Revelations of a Messiah
by Arcananox
Summary: Minato Arisato, now age 27, takes a vacation to America for a little relaxation. After stumbling upon mysterious city with unique kids, he embarks on another adventure far greater than his own one ten years ago. But only after Minato realizes that there are more people out to destroy him than he thought.
1. Chapter 1

_A sound soul…_

_Dwells within a sound mind…_

_And a sound body._

Through the desert of the Mohave, Minato rode through the tough heat and scorching sun on his motorcycle. "Geez, I thought our summers were bad."

Ever since Minato sealed away Nyx ten years ago, he didn't use his power ever again. However, he still kept in touch with Igor and the others, and his Personas would sometimes interact with him and convert with him.

He didn't make it into some really big deal, but over time, he began to accept the title of The Messiah, and carried it proudly.

"Well, Las Vegas was really crazy. I think I'm going to like it here." Minato said making a grin with the wind blowing pass him.

During his vacation in America, he went to Chicago and arrived at a local bar. The bartender was one of the strangest men he ever met, wearing tacky shades even though he was indoors. Minato would tell him about some of the lessons he learned in life and every time he made some comment about some hardships he was facing, the bartender—referred to as 'Boss'—would say some philosophical quote and then finish it off with something along the lines of "To borrow a line from a certain someone".

In that same bar, he ran into the same man he did ten years ago at Club Escapade. He seemed to be doing a lot better than he looked at the club. The two drank with his other friends, Johnny, Tobi, and Orlando, and finally introduced himself as Vincent Brooks. He said that the whole 'nightmare fiasco' thing was already settled. Although, he didn't give any further information about what happened with his relationship.

He really matured and grew as his outlook on life changed. He was now better built than he was as a kid, and his five o'clock shadow made him look like a blue-haired Dante.

Things were going well for the once Persona-user. A flexible job with a hefty pay, his retirement from battle and living a life of relaxation, and the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

Minato stopped in the middle of the desert to look at some of the mountain tops, drinking water with a pair of sunglasses on.

However, just when he was about to get back on the bike, something chilled the back of his spine. Something spoke to him and he turned around.

"What do you sense, Thanatos?" He whispered and Thanatos spoke to him again, "A familiar energy? Is it an enemy?"

He looked and saw, far in the desert, just visible enough to distinguish what it was, "A castle? No it… it's some sort of village. A city?"

Minato was contemplating in his head whether or not to follow his intuition. And he decided it couldn't be left alone. He got back on the bike and drove to the direction of the city with the strange presence he sensed. Little did he know he was about to embark on an adventure far greater than his Tartarus problem.

_**MEANWHILE**_

The DWMA students were all relaxing at Maka and Soul's place. All laughing and enjoying their break from all the hassle they went through. Last month really put a strain on all the students. With Asura gone, Medusa dead, and the order back to normal, everyone was given a month rest, with their break over the next day as they have to get back to the school. Needless to say, during their break they still gathered up any Kishin that came about.

"Well, things have really settled down here, huh?" said Maka.

"Yes. I believe now we can set back our original goals." Kid agreed.

"Yeah. That whole stuff with Asura and Arachnophobia wasn't all that cool. But still, ya gotta admit, it was pretty fulfilling."

Everyone looked at Soul with a smile and a nod.

Suddenly Maka felt something. It made her head space and tense up as she gasped. She shot up off the couch like a bullet in shock, shaking.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Soul asked with aggresion, standing up as well.

"That Soul Wavelength. It's... It's... overwhelming." It certainly was. She felt so much power. Not only that, but she narrowed it down to realize it was channeling only out of one person.

"Yeah... I feel it too. Is it a Kishin?" Kid asked, standing up and glarring.

"I... I don't know." Maka said.

"Let's show whoever this is who's boss!" Black*Star shouted, "Tsubaki!"

"Right." Tsubaki complied to her meister and the two sped off out of the house without anyone catching up.

"It can't be avoided. Maka." Soul said to his meister, which got her out of her trance. She stared at him for a second before nodding slowly.

"Liz, Patty." Kid ordered.

"Okay." "YAY!" The two sisters complied and turned into their weapon forms. Kid grabbed the two guns and then ran outside, summoning Beelzebub and then speeding off. The last two remaining students ran outside and to the direction of the precence that Maka was sensing.

"Doesn't Black*Star know he's going the wrong way?" Soul asked as they were running.

"No time." Maka answered, "Kid's Soul Perception is good enough for him to have a hint."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>As Maka caught up with Kid, the two guns transformed back into their human forms. Minutes later, Black*Star appeared.<p>

"Geez. What took you guys so long?" Black*Star asked as if he was the one who made it first.

"What are you talking about? You're the last one here." Soul said.

"Pfft. A big star like me doesn't take a simple route." Black*Star said in his arrogant tone.

Maka was silent as the wind blowing pass them, starring at whatever it was as she peered over a building wall.

"Maka, what's up?" Soul asked, walking over and peering as well. The rest of the students followed their lead.

What they saw made them a little skeptical about what their comotion was going on about. It was simply a young man with blue hair, a good build, wearing a black jacket and black pants. He was sitting at the DeathBucks, leaning nonchalantly with a hand in a pocket and a cup of coffee in another.

"That's it?" Soul said, somewhat sweat-dropping.

"I wouldn't be so doubtful." Kid replied, "This wavelength we were sensing. It feels... familiar."

* * *

><p>Minato, unaware of the students eyes learing on him, was looking around the city, somewhat of an amused smile on his face, "Death City, huh?" He took a sip of coffee, "Doesn't have the most inviting name, but alot of people here are friendly."<p>

"Yahoo!"

"Black Star, no!" He heard a bunch of kids screaming.

Suddenly Minato saw a kid with blue spiky hair jump up with his fist raised, knowing that he was going to attempt to strike. Minato let go of his coffee cup, the liquid spilling everywhere as he reached back and grabed the top of the chair, pulling himself back to the point of performing a backflip to dodge the kid's hit, which broke the table in two. The dust and wind settled down as Minato has his hands in his pockets, glarring at the kid.

He looked over to see a few other kids run up to the other kid. Minato stared for a second as a long pause was only to be heard.

"Umm... Problem?"

"No, no, of course not. We're sorry." Maka formaly apologized.

"Yeah, you bet your ass there is!" Black*Star said, pointing a finger straight at the blue-haired man, "You think you're so big, huh? Well, you're nothing compared to me!"

Minato raised an eyebrow, "I failed to see where I made you mad..."

"You bastard, don't play dumb! You think you can show off and approach on my city?" Black*Star got up close and personal with Minato, yelling at his face.

"Say it, don't spray it. I need my space." Minato said, putting his hand on the assassin and making a light push for him to back off a little.

"There he goes again." Tsubaki said, sighing.

"What're we going to do with him?" Maka said, sighing also.

"Mind if I interupt?" Kid said, stepping forward.

Minato looked at Kid, and the second he did, he felt that same feeling that he did a few hours ago, _Thanatos... is this what you were sensing._

_**Yes,** **Master.** _The death god answered in a very dark and disturbing tone, **_This child contains the same power you were granted._**

_A Persona...? _Minato inwardly tensed.

_**No, the power of Death. This child is the son of the embodiment of Death himself, The Grim Reaper.**_

_So the Grim Reaper does exist... And he has a son too. So that's why it seemed so familiar. He is Death... Interesting. _Minato smiled, "By all means, speak up." He answered.

"Who are you?" Kid asked in a formal manner.

"My name is Minato Arisato, if you really want to know. I'm from Japan and I just came here on vacation."

Kid observed him vigilantly, and then spoke up, "Could you meet us tomorrow morning? Up there." Kid pointed to the large school.

"What's that?" Minato asked.

"That's the DWMA. Err... Death Weapon Meister Academy." Maka answered, _Kid, are you INSANE? Meet at the SCHOOL?_

"Doesn't sound friendly." Minato commented making a wry face.

"No worries, it's just a name." Soul replied shrugging.

"Alright, I guess. Think I'll like it here." Minato said, looking around the city to take glances of the many unique sights.

"We'll see you then." Maka said, turning around and following the rest of the group.

Minato watched them as they were no longer in sight, _Well, Thanatos, you and me are going to be in another ride._

**_I will serve you with all my strength, Master._**

* * *

><p>As the DWMA students were walking back, Black*Star walked up to Soul and started whispering, "Psst. Hey, Soul, you and I are gonna wait outside the doors and we're gonna kill tht guy!"<p>

Soul made a wide smile, "Well, your priorities aren't exactly up to par, but I got your back."

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day: Before School<strong>

* * *

><p>Minato walked up the steps, "Man, how many stares does this school need? This place is bigger than Gekkokahn." Upon finishing climbing the steps, he saw that kid with the white hair and yellow jacket sitting.<p>

"It's about time you got here. Keeping me waiting like that... 's not very cool."

"What are you up to?" Minato asked, knowing that he wasn't sitting outside for nothing.

"Whatever is in your soul that made Maka jump like that... It seems more than a threat to me." Soul said standing up and giving a wide toothy smile.

"Maka? Maka-who? Minato asked, _That's right, I don't even know these kids names._

**_Really baaad way to make a first impression! Hee-Ho!_**

_Jack Frost... Shut it. _

Suddenly...

"YAAAAHHOOOO!"

Minato looked up just in time to make a quick dodge from the kid's strike, which made the stone ground crack into pieces.

"Dammit! AGAIN!" The kid yelled as he got out of the ruble.

"So this is why you asked me up here." Minato said, looking behind him to see Soul walking in a circular motion around him.

"No. But we still want to deal with you. Trust me on this one 'Minato', if that's your name, you will lose."

"I thought this vacation was going to be relaxing. Geez." Minato sighed.

"Quit complaining." Soul said.

"Time to teach you your place." Black*Star said, pointing at the blue-haired Persona-user.

Minato glarred, "My place... is to serve as a Messiah."

* * *

><p>"Okay class, if you would turn your books to page..."<p>

Voices and sounds of violence could be heard from outside the window. Stein looked up, his glasses glaring in the room lights. He put his hand on the giant screw and started to turn it slowly, "What seems to be the trouble now?"

"Oh, no." Maka said putting her head on her desk, "Black*Star and Soul, please tell me you didn't."

"Professor Stein, Soul and Black*Star are fighting somebody, and he is like... really good. I haven't seen him around these parts." A student adressed the teacher as he looked outside the window.

"Oh, God, they did." Maka said, groaning.

"As Black*Star and Soul's partners, I request Maka and Tsubaki to come with me. Everyone else stay here."

"Hold on, Professor Stein. I want to go, too." Kid said standing up.

"Are you involved?" Stein looked over to the young reaper.

"If I take my weapons with me, yes I am. Liz, Patty." Kid said, not wanting to take no for an answer.

"Okay!"

"Geez, Kid, we can't get a break around here?" Liz complained.

"Hey Chrona! I wanna see someone get mangled! Let's go too!" The little Ragnarok ordered, giving him/her a punch in the head.

"Oww! O-o-okay." Chrona complied.

Going through the corridors and looking outside, they were greeted with the white haired weapon and the assassin battling the same man that they met yesterday.

"Oh my..." Stein whispered, looking at the unknown man who called himself Minato Arisato, "If that's him, I can already tell that Black*Star and Soul are going to lose."

"What? Please elaborate, Mr. Stein." Kid asked, wondering what he meant.

Stein looked up, "That's Minato Arisato. He's from Japan and let's just say that his power is unmatched." he said.

"Wha- How?" Maka asked.

Around that same time, Black*Star tried to make a straight punch to the blue haired man. But Minato easily ducked down and made a one-two punch hard enough to even make the assassin stumble.

Minato punched his knuckles together, "Thanks for the boxing lessons, Aki."

Soul tranformed his arm into the scythe blade as he charged, which Minato turned around shocked as to how the kid could possibly do something like that.

"The hell is that?" He said as he moved away from the blade, "Okay, that's it!" He said, and then he mysteriously began to glow a blue aura and a creature with coffins chained around it began to take a stance in front of Minato and guard him.

"What?" Maka said in awe.

"What on Earth is that?" Kid said.

"That's a Persona."

Everyone looked at Stein in puzzlement.

"A Persona is a relection of someone's soul. But Minato's capabilites are unparralleled as he can summon Personas in the hundreds. What's outstanding is that summoning a Persona requires a great amount of concentration, but Minato's power excels so great that all he need to do is remotely think about it, and one of them comes to his aid."

"Then why was that wavelength so familiar to me?" Kid asked.

Stein just chuckled, "Because it's your wavelength."

"What?"

"When he was only a child, Minato was granted the same power of Death that you and Lord Death have. I'll go into deatils later, but his power is amplified even more by one more thing. Maka, if you would use your Soul Perception and take a good look at Minato's soul."

"I'll try." Maka complied. As she used her ability, something strange happened.

"Huh? I don't see it? Does Minato not have a Soul?"

"Correction... Everything is his soul."

"What?"

"Minato's true power lies within his soul as the very essence of the Universe. The Universe is him and he is the Universe. His power is without limit. Defeating Minato Arisato..." Stein pulled out a cigarette which he lighted and made a quick inhale, blowing out a cloud of smoke, "is an impossible dream."

Kid made a few quick glances to the man named Minato, "This one man... with that much power." he whispered.

"To put it into perspective... Y'know how Black*Star rambles on about surpassing God?" Stein asked.

Everyone nodded.

Stein smirked and made another inhale of his cigarette, blowing out another cloud of smoke.

"Minato beat him to the punch."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I never thought this crossover would work out, but the more I thought about the stroyline, I saw that it worked out quite well.<strong>

**Please tell me what you think of this as it helps motivate me to keep the story alive.**

**Remember that this crossover follows the Soul Eater ANIME not the manga. Haven't read the manga at all, so my apologies for that.**

**Goodbye!**

**-Arcananox**


	2. Chapter 2 The True Power of a Messiah

**Author's Note:**

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, I was able to update faster than expected, so please enjoy and review.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Messiah's True Power<strong>

* * *

><p>In the Death Room, Lord Death was watching through the mirror at the same fight that was going on in front of the school.<p>

Death Scythe was looking with him, along with Sid.

"It seems the Messiah is here." Spirit said, "It's been a while since we heard about Minato."

"Yes indeed." Lord Death nodded, "It certainly has been a long time... 10 years almost."

* * *

><p>The overseers of the fight continued to watch the fight as Minato constantly blocked, dodged, and reflected any attack inflicted on him by Black*Star or Soul. Maka was starring in awe at Minato's talent, and so was Kid, but he was paying more attention to the Personas he summoned and how the same power of Death that he inherited from his father was dwelling within Minato.<p>

"How did Minato obtain the power of Death?" Kid asked.

Stein looked at Kid to see he was wanting to look more into the myterious man's origins. He looked back at the fight, "Minato was given the power of Death unvolunterily. It was sealed within him 20 years ago." Stein had a look of sympathy for the blue haired man, "Your father was part of a councel... They were called 'The Trinity of Death'. It consisted of only three members. Lord Death... Thanatos, who is actually at Minato's command as one of his Personas, the one you saw earlier... And then there was Nyx."

"Nyx?" Maka questioned.

"Yes." Stein nodded, "All three of them were in charge of a humans mortality. Thanatos determined a mortals lifespan... Nyx gave the life and then carried out the death when their time comes... And Lord Death took the souls on their final journey to their resting place."

"What went wrong?" Kid asked.

"Humans thought they could control Death, that's what happened." Stein said with a face contorted in disgust, as if it was a wrongdoing and a great injustice, "A madman scientist gathered up monstrousities and created The Tower of Demise... It was supposed to be a beacon for Nyx to come and wipe out everyone. Part of that the experiment was to harbor the power of Death... However... it awoke at an incomplete state. In order to prevent any havok, Death itself was literally sealed within him and was resting inside Minato's soul for 10 years. Waiting... Waiting for that moment to awaken and bring Nyx to the world."

"No Nyx was actually not good?" Liz asked, only to have her childish sister giggiling.

"She wasn't hostile nor malevolent. It was humans who were at fault." Stein said, inhaling from his cigarette and blowing out a cloud of smoke, "Humans lost the joy of living... and that malice spawn a creature to mask up the cloud of madness that brought Nyx forward. But Minato saved us all from certain destruction. By obtaining the power of the Universe, he created a seal to keep Nyx back."

Maka looked at the blue haired man in awe, "Wow... So he's, like... a hero or something."

"He certainly is." Stain said with a smile, "As a matter of fact, with what he stands for, he was given the title of The Messiah."

"The Messiah, hmm." Kid said, "From what you've told us, Professor Stein, he seems to have gone through alot."

"Yes he has." Stein confirmed.

Around that time, Minato summoned Thanatos helped keep Soul busy while he himself delt with the assassin. When Kid looked at the majestic being for a minuite, his eyes turned wide as he grinned.

"Kid, what's up?" Liz asked her meister.

"Look at the coffins... all of them... all surrounding him... **_perfectly symmetrical!_ **I'm beginning to _like _this power he has." Kid said, his eyes sparking in delight.

"Oh, geez." Liz exclaimed, facepalming.

Soul dodged the creature, trying to attack it but was only met with the Death God brushing it off like only a leaf batted him.

_Who are you? _What _are you?_ Soul thought as Thanatos disappeared and looked at the blue-haired Messiah.

Black*Star panted, leaning forward and brushing his mouth with the back of his right hand, "You little arrogant bastard." Black*Star grimaced, "You're going easy on a big star like me... That's a dangerous move. I'm going to beat you, Minato." Black*Star scowled and the stars in his eyes began to show, "You are _**NOT **_going to upstage ME!" He performed the Speed Star and sprinted towards Minato with unbelievable agility, then crossed his arms and Soul could tell what he was about to do. _**"Black*Star BIG WAVE!"** _

Minato quickly uttered, "Takunda." and afterwards, Black*Star's big attack was nothing more than a little shove against him.

Black*Star looked in disbelief, narrowing his eyes, "What... happened... I don't feel so... what?" He said, looking at his hands, they weren't as firm anymore.

Soul scowled at Minato, "What did you do to Black*Star?"

"I weakened his attack power." Minato answered, "I can also decrease both of your defenses. Watch! Rakunda!" Minato uttered and a purple, searing color seaped into them and both of them staggered, BlackStar feeling even worse than before. Minato then summoned Susano-o and it used Brave Blade, knocking them back and onto the ground.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki said, about to run up to her meister, but Stein made her halt.

"Don't. At least not yet." Stein said.

The two staggered back up and Black*Star was incredibly infuriated, "You're pissing me off."

"Let me ask you something... Black*Star." Minato said.

"That's right! Black*Star! The greatest assassin in the world! And don't you forget it!" The child yelled, pointing a thumb to himself.

"Black*Star." Minato repeated, "Do you think I got this power for nothing?"

"I don't care! I'm still going to beat you!" The assassin flailed an arm to his side.

"You can not defeat someone with strength alone. My power derives from the bonds I've forged with others." The Persona-user said, and then he crossed his arms and his blue aura grew even greater, "Strength of heart... when united..." A figure began to appear from above him, the silhouette of it made it look like a human form. It began to appear less vague and it seemed to be something that bared a striking resemblance to Minato himself, having a chestplate of armor and majestic looking wings, floating above with bright red eyes. Minato raised his head with a glare in his eyes, "Is barred by no door. It's time to show you the true power of a Messiah."

"Woah!" Almost everyone exclaimed except for Stein, who just smiled in an impressed manner.

Soul and Black*Star we're taunting the Blue-haired man, "Bring it on! Let's see what you got!" Soul yelled, "Messiah whatever! You're not going to beat a big guy like me!" Black*Star beckoned along.

Maka and Kid both were atonished at his Soul Wavelength, with barred a resemblance to Kid's, with a skull but without the stripes. It must of been because of his Death abilites. The soul looked like it had a large bang over the right eye, like Minato himself. The soul was large enough to engulf his half of the field.

"Incredible." Kid whispered, "I can feel it from here."

"Now you'll see what he's capable of." Stein said.

Minato raised a hand, whispering very engagingly, **"Messiah! Morning Star!"** And snapped his fingers. The clouds parted and and a ray of light shined through, and when it touched the ground, it made a deadly explosion of light that engulfed a large part of the battleground. When the power subsided, both the assassin and the white-haired weapon were laying on the ground with dizzy eyes, whimpering.

"Okay, now you can go." Stein adressed to Tsubaki.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki immediatly yelled and ran, with Maka walking up to her own partner. She could tell in her intuition that Soul wasn't as hurt as he seemed.

"You have been upstaged." Minato said, and then walked up to both of the students, picking up the both of them on his shoulders. He looked over to Maka and Tsubaki, "No hard feelings."

"No... They're always like this." Maka replied. At that moment the other students, along with Stein, walked up to the Persona-user.

"These two need some rest and a little treatment but that's all." Minato said.

"Then please follow me. Naigus will take care of them." Stein said, and everyone headed to the health-room.

* * *

><p>Upon closing the door and looking at everyone, Minato rubbed the back of his head, "So... now what? Oh! That's right. I never got your names."<p>

Maka nodded, "Maka Albarn, student number 1."

"Franken Stein, Class Cresent Moon teacher."

"Liz..."

"And PATTY THOMPSON!" Her little sister interrupted, giggling.

"That guy with the white hair that was fighting with Black*Star is my partner, Soul Eater." Maka said, making a gesture to the closed door.

"Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Black*Star's partner." The dark arm greeted with a welcoming tone in her voice and a smile.

"My name is Chrona." The child mumbled, Minato recognizing the fact that he/she reminded him of Fuuka in that manner made him smile and nod.

"And I'm Death the Kid, the Thompson twins' meister partner and son of Lord Death, the school's founder." Kid said formally.

"Minato Arisato, leader of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad." Minato threw his hat into the ring of introductions, "This Lord Death guy... The Grim Reaper, I presume?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Kid asked.

"After I met you guys yesterday I checked into a hotel, and I asked the front desk agent who was in charge."

"Hello hello!" An energetic high-pitched voice could be heard from behind everyone and the Grim Reaper could be seen walking to their direction, making a big wave with one of his giant hands, "It's good to finally meet you in person, Minato!"

"How do you know my name?" Minato asked, to which his question was answered by Stein.

"We've been keeping an eye on you all this time. Ever since you were a child."

"Please explain?"

"If you will follow me please. I have much to tell you." The Reaper requested, and Minato did without any second thoughts.

* * *

><p>In the Death Room, Minato was given all the details about what how the Lord Death, Stein, Sid, and Spirit knew about him, and every little bit peeked his interest.<p>

"So you're telling me that a fraction of your... What was it... Soul Wavelength? Was harnessed into a power that went unstable... And that was the power that Aigis sealed in me?"

"Very much so, Messiah." Spirit said, "Part of him dwells within you, and that's why your power was amplified."

"And Thanatos was sent to watch over you." Lord Death added.

"I see." Minato said. Then, without any warning or cue, his blue aura manifested again, and a human like figure appeard. He had slicked back grey hair with a yellow scarf and blue eyes. Minato's eyes widened, that appearance all too familiar to him.

"Ryoji?"

The Ryoji look-alike looked over to him, but he didn't seem to have that same tone in his eyes that the Ryoji he knew had, "No, Master, that was my name for only a brief moment. Please, continue to call me Thanatos."

Minato made a wry face, those memories were creeping back to him again. When he found out that Ryoji was actually the apriser of The Fall that he prevented, it shook him to think it. And Ryoji was technically a part of him; a kendrid spirit to him. And to have him show up again, only to be completly different from the Ryoji that was friendly and social, it messed with his head. He mumbled, "Okay."

"Good to see you, Thanatos. It's been a long time." Lord Death greeted.

"Yes, Lord Death, and you've changed yourself." Thanatos agreed.

"If you'll excuse us, Lord Death, these students must get back to class." Stein said, turning the screw inhis head until it made a large click, "Thanatos, my apologies for leaving on such short notice. We'll talk again after school."

"It's no trouble at all, my friend. You have your priorities, I have mine: To serve my master." Thanatos said.

"Very well, doctor Stein. You take care until then. Kids, take care!" The Reaper said, waving a foam hand in the air.

"Alright. We'll be seeing you, Minato, it was nice knowing you." Liz said, passing by the Messiah and waving.

"Bye-bye, Minato-guy! Wait up, sis!" The other Thompson sister yelled, also waving.

"It's was good to meet you, Minato. You were really strong back there." Tsubaki complimented, making a smile and walking out of the room, most likely going to check on her assassin partner.

"Umm... Well... It was good to see you. I hope you get along with everyone." Chrona said, holding an arm and at least trying to have a friendly tone. Minato smirked and put a hand on his/her shoulder.

"I'm sure I will." He said, and then he widened his eyes when a tiny black creature appeared from Chrona's back and had a screeching high-pitched voice.

"If you're going to stay with us, then be sure to cook, OKAY! The only good thing about this place is the food!"

"What... is that thing?" Minato asked, more out of real curiousity, rather than shock or disgust.

"This is Ragnarok, my weapon." The pink-haired child answered, "I'm sorry about that."

"Eh, it's not really a big deal. It's just as if I fused Mot with Orpheus, that's all." Minato replied, reaching out to the demon-sword, but was met with Ragnarok biting his finger, "Ah, geez!" The Messiah shouted, shasking his hand in pain, "Guess that was my fault."

"You're right, it was!" Ragnarok shouted as Chrona passed by the Persona-user.

Kid walked up to Minato formally, "It was a pleasure meeting, you Minato." He said, offering a hand which the blue-haired man enthusiastically shook, "I wish to talk with you more sometime."

"Anytime, Kid." Minato said nodding.

The final person to say goodbye was Maka, who walked up to him boldly, "If you don't mind, Minato, I want to talk sometime also." She said.

"No worries. And I'll hear what you have to say also." Minato replied.

"Okay!" Maka said as she smiled.

Minato's own grin subsided as he had a look in shock, but not exposed enough for the scythe meister to notice as she passed by him and ran out the room, waving.

Minato's eyes were glued onto her until she finally was gone from sight. Spirit walked up to the Messiah's side, turning his head to look as he saw Minato with a hint of pain in his eyes.

"What's the matter."

Minato got out of his trance and sharply turned to the Death Scythe, then lowering his head as the muttered, "That smile... that ton in her voice... She reminded me of my little sister just now."

Another painful memory within Minato's subconscience creeped to him again. One of his most tragic and devestating experiences. It struck a blow to him and everyone when it happened. Akihiko was effected by alot, but in comparison to Minato's distraught, it seemed like nothing. The worst part of it was that he blamed himself, believing he could've done something about it when he had the chance; but he was only brought to those words. Those painful words on that stone.

**_Hamuko Arisato_**

**1992-2010**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Well, now that we got the introductions out of the way and everybody knows everybody, it's time to get the ball really rolling. This story is mainly going to focus less on defeating a dark force, and more along the lines of the DWMA students being able to form a bond in the sense of how Minato did with his friends. In the next chapter, things start to get serious. So stay tuned!<strong>

**-Arcananox**


	3. Chapter 3 An Alarming Reappearance

**Author's Note:**

**I'm very sorry everyone for the large delay, however, it probably is going to continue for a while. It's just by the grace of God that I get a hold on a computer now… This chapter will signify the plot of this story, and I most likely will make this into a _SERIES. _So please bear with the constant delays.**

_**IMPORTANT NOTE!**_

**This chapter contains spoilers from Persona 4 Arena, the recent fighting game that has important events that will contribute to the events of future Persona games. If you have not yet played Persona 4 Arena, or Persona 4 for that matter, and you are prone to getting mad at spoilers, you may want to rethink reading the rest of this story until so…**

**Chapter 3: An Alarming Reappearance**

After the brief meeting with Lord Death and the others, Minato asked if he, too, could be dismissed as well. To which Lord Death allowed, and Thanatos stayed behind to talk to the Grim Reaper and Spirit about "an important matter". Minato headed to the school's library; however he became lost time after time again while roaming through its halls, and then finally made it. He snuck into the Level 4 section after he was denied access into it by the librarian, so he forced himself in. Having more experience after that night sneaking into Gekkokahn to rescue Fuuka, he didn't seem to have very much trouble sneaking around here either.

"Let's see… Anything that can tell me about this 'Soul Wavelength' business…?" Minato whispered, maintaining his volume to keep from being caught by the librarian.

Tapping his fingers on every book to keep track of the alphabetized titles, he skipped K,L,M,O,P,Q, and R before slowing down at S, "S… S... Sandalphon, Sarasvati, Seth…"

"_**Yes?" **_Ironically, the three mentioned creatures were also Minato's Personas, so they thought he was calling to them…

_Not you! _He thought to himself to keep from sounding like he was talking to himself… _Well actually… I am talking to myself technically… Them being my Personas and… Nevermind! I'm delving into this way too much! Concentrate, Minato, dammit! Ahh! Here it is!_

Minato's eyes lit up as he saw a red book that had the words, "Souls - And What Lies Beyond", it was better than nothing, and maybe he could learn more than what he bargained for. He jerked the book out of the shelf, swooped past the librarian, and calmed back down as he roamed through the halls once more. But now he had something else on his mind as he lowered his head a little.

_I can't believe I'm doing this… I wonder why I dragged myself into another whack situation… I thought I was done with this shit… _He thought as he remembered more and more about his predicament with Tartarus, Shadows, Personas, and Nyx. He wanted to leave it all behind… He wanted to forget what happened after the battle with Nyx.

After Nyx was sealed away, Minato's Soul was chained to a golden door to prevent Erebus from opening it back up. For three long years, he suffered at the hands of Erebus. But then he was set free by a certain young lady with white hair and yellow eyes…

"Elizabeth…" Minato whispered. Somehow, Elizabeth was granted the power of the Wild Card two years after the Tartarus incident came to a close. By establishing Social Links with two other Wild Card users, the combined might of three users of the Fool Arcana was more than enough to permanently eradicate Erebus, and create a substitute seal to take Minato's place. Minato was shocked at first when he was reawakened, wondering how Elizabeth obtained the Wild Card, to which she answered, "It… as you people say… 'just sort of happened'." The two other Fools were a surprise to him as well. Aigis apparently obtained the Wild Card just a few weeks after Minato died. And there was another face he had never met before: a young man by the name of Yu Narukami, who also managed to defeat a goddess along with his own friends.

However, Minato's war against Shadows was far from over. After a quick reunion with some old friends, Minato was recruited as Number 2 in Mitsuru's "Shadow Operatives". However, due to his circumstances, Minato was still declared legally dead by the outside world…

That's why he never used his power until just a few hours ago, as he only took jobs that required going out of the country, where he was not recognized by anyone. And it was a week ago that Mitsuru advised Minato to take a vacation, believing he deserved it. Now he's been introduced to a stranger world… where teenagers—who actually reminded him of himself and his own friends back when they were young—can transform into specific weapons. Part of him wanted to leave… to not conduct in another matter that could lead to more than his fair share of dangers. After all, he was told that these kids hunt down creatures that manifest from their own insanity, much like how Shadows manifest from people's suppressed emotions. But part of him was excited. He admitted to himself that he was in fact glad to relive his youthful days, filled with action and very eventful.

Minato sat down on the stairs that towered in front of the school to take a few hours reading the book he "checked out" and was interested in its contexts. Intrigued of the explanation that every Soul has a different quality, and what that quality represents determines the power of someone's Soul Wavelength, "I see… So it's like how the strength of a Persona is determined by the strength of one's heart. I wonder…" Minato whispered the last part as he looked through the Table of Contents, and to his surprise, there was a section in the near back of the book that had something to do with his power. Flipping through the papers until he made it to the appropriate page, he read its texts.

"Soul Potential…" Minato said. Minato was familiar with it, as the abbreviated term that was frequently used in his team was SP, "I see… Soul Potential is the 'sister' power to Soul Wavelength…" Minato whispered, and tracing through the texts with his finger, he read aloud.

"Soul Potential can be seen as the 'sister' power to Soul Wavelength. It focuses less on the Soul itself, and more on the stability of the Mind and Heart. One with a stable Mind and a Heart that has been calmed by the person may be able to unlock new powers during Soul Resonance." Minato raised his eyebrows as he continued to read, "Soul Potential, however, cannot be accessed by a simple action. It has—in some cases—taken some people years to create an SP power. But, SP can, in fact, come to people naturally if they have the 'potential' as the power is named after." Minato looked away for a second as he stood up and looked at the large building and the fiery candles burning brightly on its sides.

"I see… So what my senpai were talking about when they called it 'potential' was the other half of Soul Wavelength. They probably don't know that themselves, but still… This is interesting."

At that moment, Minato heard the sound of a large bell. He checked his watch and, as he guessed, it was time for school to be over for the day. The large number of students swarmed from the entrance of the Academy and Minato stepped to the side to let them through. When the number of students coming out decreased, Minato looked up at the balcony in the middle of the two cones to see something emerge off it. It soared across the sky and a trail of smoke was left in its trace.

"What was that?" Minato asked.

Maka walked up to the Messiah with Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki, "Oh, that was Kid. He has what you might call a flying skateboard."

"You don't say…" Minato replied.

"Damn rich kid gets all the fun toys." Black*Star commented bitterly with his hands behind his head.

"Heh… That's true. Through my journey I swooped up quite a lot of cash. It was how I was able to afford my motorcycle." Minato replied with a slight smirk. Then he turned around and look at Soul, and then to the assassin, "Are you two alright?"

"No sweat! I'm Black*Star, I can survive anything!" The assassin yelled as he pointed straight to Minato.

"Yeah, I'm alright, it's all cool. Hey, Minato, you free tonight? How about chilling at our place?" Soul offered as he gave a wide toothy grin.

That moment, another person walked out of the doors of the academy to join everyone, "Actually, I would like Minato to come follow me." Stein said, turning the screw in his head.

"Oh… Alright. Sorry, guys, maybe next time, okay?" Minato said, making his way to Stein and then following his direction.

"Well, that sucks…" Soul said with his hands in his pockets.

"He said next time, so we'll wait until then." Maka said, turning around with Soul following her to go home.

Meanwhile, Minato and Stein made their way back to the Death Room that the Persona-user was in just a few hours ago… After going through the hall filled with guillotines, he saw Sid, Death Scythe, Thanatos, and Lord Death. While Minato couldn't tell the reaper's expression because of the mask, Sid and Spirit had a bit of a stern look on their faces.

"Good afternoon, Minato." Lord Death greeted, but not as crazily or energetically as he was earlier that day.

"Hey, Death… Something you guys need me for? You three look like you want to yell at me." The blue haired Messiah commented as he finished walking up the steps with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, Minato. While you aren't in trouble, we were talking about you. And we came to a realization…" Spirit said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah?" Minato simply mumbled.

"You are familiar with SP, right?" Sid asked, "I'm sure you do, because you use it all the time when you summon your Persona."

The Messiah nodded.

"Well, to put it in the best way I can… SP is—"

"I know how it's related to you guys…" Minato interrupted, and with an amused look on his face, he closed his eyes to recap what he read in the book, "SP—Soul Potential—is the 'sister' power to Soul Wavelength and serves as the second half to achieving a Soul's true power."

"How did you…" Spirit said, but he too was interrupted by the Persona-user.

"I swiped a book from your library. However I was surprised to find out that SP is connected to your Soul Wavelength. So what does this have to do with you bringing me here?" He asked, looking to the reaper.

"That's what I was going to get at next." Lord Death answered.

And Minato listened carefully. He was shocked to hear a question that didn't even cross his mind as to whether or not they would ask. But Minato gave it some thought for about a minute or two, and with a confident grin, he replied... "Yes."

* * *

><p>That night, farther away from the Academy than anyone could comprehend, was the hideout of the Witches. The Grand Witch held a gathering in the summit, declaring the search for a certain someone.<p>

"Everyone…" The Grand Witch said with everyone's undivided attention directed to her, "It seems that Medusa is dead… But fret not, for she was a traitor, using black-blood on her own child as a test experiment, and planned on collaborating with Kishin Asura. Eruka and the Mizune Sisters are nowhere to be found, and the "dog" is out of its cage. If you find our two Witches, have them here at once. As for the mutt… he is to be killed on sight."

"Yes Mistress." The other Witches said in unison, and were immediately dismissed.

The Grand Witch turned around and brooded over the circumstances, "Foolishness, Medusa… Foolishness… Had she no shame in bringing this down upon us? Black-blood used as a tool? Madness is not a toy… The Kishin are not to be made 'friends' with. As a Witch, you were a vital piece of the puzzle; as a scientist, you were a hack, and a fool, Medusa, and now you're a dead fool."

"Hmhmhmhmm… _You're _the dead fool."

The Grand Witch didn't even startle as she slowly and calmly turned around and faced the voice… And who else would it be than the very person she just mentioned to be dead…

"I knew you wouldn't die that easily, Medusa, but coming here alone when we plan to kill you isn't a well thought out idea… My… I thought you were much smarter than that."

"Oh, I am… I most definitely am." Medusa said as her trademark slick smile started to form. Maba heard footsteps from behind them and out of the shadows was a familiar man wearing matching black and white striped pants and shirt.

"Ahh, the mutt." Maba grimaced, "But it's going to take much more than that, you foolish snake. You may have taken my eye, dog, but I'll take your heart."

Free had a toothy smile as the look in his eyes signified he wanted blood.

"You will have more of a problem with that than you think." Medusa retorted, and again, footsteps were heard behind her. But she heard two sets of feet, and sure enough, two other people came out; two people that she's never seen in her life. One had long white wavy hair, and had tattoos covering the entire surface of his arms, with a headband covering his forehead. He was completely shirtless and was only in a pair of jeans and shoes. Another had blue hair that slanted to the left of his head. He wore a bombers jacket and had a grenade in his left hand, tossing it in the air and catching it again and again. But something was strange was about this one. His left arm was completely metallic, something that might have belonged to a robot in a science fiction movie. The same was with his left leg, and left cheek was metal, and it went from the bottom of his jaw to where his left eyebrow _would've _been, and what served as an eye was a glowing red ring. All of these made noises whenever they moved like a real machine would have.

"And you are…?" The Grand Witch didn't feel intimidated by these new faces.

The white-haired man grinned menacingly, "My name is of no importance. I can assure you that what I represent _is _the important matter here: your death."

"My death?" Maba repeated in a mocking matter.

"Of course, we won't kill you if you are willing to cooperate with us, oh Grand Witch. What do you say? Do you wish to hear our proposal?" Medusa asked, making a grin as if she knew full well that she was the master of this little game.

"Let's hear it… your petty offer." Maba agreed, however, she knew that no matter what, she would not be convinced.

"I think you'll find that even if I weren't even here right now, you would still be under the boot of someone stronger than yourself." Medusa said, letting go of her smile to replace it with a look filled with hate.

"What are you talking about?"

"You see, Grand Witch…" Medusa began.

The Grand Witch just stared at her, waiting for her to finish her little threat.

"The Messiah is here."

"What?" Maba, after a string of not showing any reaction, finally heard something that actually made her tense, "The Messiah."

"He's already made contact with the academy. It won't be long before he learns of our existence." Medusa said.

"The Messiah would want nothing to do with us. What makes you think that—"

"Arisato does not like to leave any evil untouched. Arisato... has no limits with his self-righteous sense of justice." The white haired man interrupted, "We met ten years ago, and I can tell you he will show no mercy. He will want you all to beg for your lives if he heard of the atrocities you all have committed."

"Takaya! Calm down." The other man said.

"Yes, Jin… Yes." Takaya complied.

"Only if we work together, with my research, and the power from these two I encountered… We will be able to kill a 'god'." Medusa offered. However she scorned when Maba scoffed at her calling Minato a god.

"You think you're little black blood research is enough? You truly are a fool." Maba mocked.

"It's not just the black blood." Takaya said.

"Well, then… You are all as disposable as your research was!" Maba yelled and then used her remaining eye to send a red beam aiming at Medusa. To which Free stepped in and used the very eye that he stole from her and sent his own magic at her. The collision made a swirling vortex in the middle and both of them continued to struggle. Takaya stepped forward a step and made another grin.

"May I intervene?" Takaya smiled at Maba, and Takaya clutched his head and out came a creature behind him, "Hypnos… Assist the dog."

The creature made a few hand gestures and held it outwards. A blue beam emerged from its palms and it hit the Grand Witch with so much ferociousness that she flew backwards and hit the wall so hard that it cracked in many shatters. Maba panted and grunted as she winced while staring at the group of people that were now approaching her.

"So sad… And here I was hoping for a successful arrangement of cooperation." Medusa mocked, "Unfortunately, this would have benefited you, more than it would have benefited us." She said, leering down on the Grand Witch and smiling her crazed smile.

"You… will all… die… at the hands… of the man who you're tying to… kill…" Maba's eyes slowly closed as she gave a dying sigh and losing all tension in her body.

"Tragic. But your other eye will suit Free well. Very well." Medusa said without any remorse or regret.

"What now? Free asked, stepping forward to stand beside the Witch.

"What else?" The diabolical witch said, giving another evil grin, "We kill Minato Arisato, and destroy the reaper's academy."

* * *

><p>The morning bell rang and every student was in their respective classes.<p>

"So, do you think we can get Minato to come chill with us this time?" Soul asked.

"Hmm… Maybe. We'll see. I didn't see him this morning, though." Maka answered, having a book to read as much as she can before their teacher walked through the class door.

Unfortunately she didn't have much time. While the class door didn't open, the ceiling did. Coming down from it was a person who looked as if he was doing back-flips, and finally, he landed on the swivel chair that was laying right beneath him. He landed so accurately that he didn't need to adjust himself. He was just sitting there with his right leg over his left, having the back of his hand under his chin.

"Pardon the interruption. But I like to make my entrances… eccentric." The person said while grinning, looking at the awestruck reactions given to him by the students. He stood up from the chair and took a stick of chalk and started writing what appeared to be his name, and then turned back around, "Alright… For the next four months, Professor Stein won't be around. Instead I'll be filling in." He informed the students, walking up the teacher's desk and placing his hands flat down on it, "You will be learning how to grow your Soul Wavelengths with the power of… Soul Potential. As for who I am…" He lifted his hands and placed them in his pockets.

"My name is Minato Arisato… And I'm your new teacher."

**Alright! We got our conflict and we got our rising action! The ball is now fully rolling! Like I said, this might be a series, so stay tuned. The action in this series is going to have a sort of "The Avengers" type of feel to it. I don't know how to quite explain it, but this massive crossover just kind of gives me that vibe I got when I watched that movie. **

**Again, pardon the delay, as my vessels for uploading this stuff are… quite limited. **

**Until next time…**

—_**Arcananox**_


	4. One-Shot

**Author's Note:**

**Everyone, the next chapter is in development and is in good condition, however, it still has a few holes that need to be filled in, so, I decided to create this little one-shot to keep the dogs from being unleashed on me.**

**This one-shot takes place 2 days before Minato came in contact with Death City. It's nothing special, just something I wanted to have fun with.**

**So…**

_**One Shot: **_**A Funny Thing Happened in California**

Minato sped through the calm night of the dessert on California's outskirts, about 20 miles from the California/Nevada borderline. It was almost midnight, and there wasn't a single other vehicle he came in contact with, making his trip through the night seem to put him in a calm trance. He looked down to see his motorcycle's gas meter dangerously close to the **'E'**, and did the only logical thing and stop at a conveniently close gas-station.

Stopping at a pump and lifting himself of his bike, he caught the full force of the tiredness he didn't notice until things went still, and stifled a long yawn. He grabbed the pump and made a quick though that, since he was here anyway, he should get a little snack to tide over until he'd have his breakfast at whatever hotel he'd stay for that night. Putting the pump in the bike's fuel door and locking it so it would fill on its own, he walked to the entrance of the building.

Walking through the glass doors, he noticed that no one else was present in the building but him. With the exception of the clerk, or course. He couldn't help but feel bothered by the thought of how long was she working here without a single soul around. She looked younger than him, perhaps in her early twenties, with semi-long blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail. To him, she looked like an innocent girl that wouldn't hurt anyone, and vice-versa.

She looked at him and gave a quick smirk, "Hey." She simply said.

"Hi" He replied back, and he was going to say something else, but he had a gut feeling that he's just be bothering her, or that she'd get the wrong idea that he was just hitting on her, so he went about his business.

His first thought was to get a drink, so he walked to the far back of the station and took a look through the glass door to see a large variety of things to choose from. He ultimately settled with a SoBe and went to get something to go with it. He went over to the snacks and picked up two choices that were his favorite. A Twix and a PayDay, looking back and forth to the snacks and rolling his eyes at his trouble.

That's when things went bad…

Across the building, he heard the cocking of what sounded like a gun. Not one, but two of the sounds were heard, making Minato believe that there were two guns.

"Don't move lady!" He heard someone yell, and his back chilled to know exactly what was going on. The store was being robbed.

"Try to call the police and your dead!" He heard a different voice yell, meaning there were two people trying to take what cash was in the store.

He peeked over the shelves two see two people holding handguns, pointing both of them to the girl, who had her hands up and looked scared for her life.

Minato glared at the two, who had no idea that Minato was behind them… He knew what he had to do.

"Who's bike is that? The one outside, who's is it? There's someone else here, isn't there? Tell us whose it is, or your dead!" The robber on the right yelled, making the anxiety in the girl's eyes more visible.

"It's mine." Minato said.

The two men jolted around and pointed the guns to the blue-haired man. Minato reacted by putting his own hands up, but not up high like he was actually scared.

"Turn over the keys! Don't try anything funny! We won't hesitate to blow your Asian brains out!" The robber on the left excessively yelled.

In the midst of his yelling, Minato grabbed his motorcycle keys and raised them, "Alright, alright… Don't want any unnecessary violence." He complied and tossed the keys to them, to which the one on the right grabbed.

The robbers turned back around, "Alright, start filling the bag with everything in the register." The left robber said.

"Excuse me… I also have my wallet, it has a few 100s in it." Minato said, grabbing his wallet and dangling it in front of him with two fingers.

They turned back around, "Smart move. Toss the wallet here too." The one on the right said.

"My wallet doesn't have any locks, so if I tossed it, the money might go everywhere. Maybe I could slide it instead?" Minato asked.

The two pause, then the right one said, "Yeah slide it over, and, again don't try anything funny!"

"Okay, okay, I'm just going to move over here." Minato said, stepping over an isle while the right robber followed him, still pointing the gun at him, but the left robber could no longer see his bottom half. The blue haired man crouched down, "Alright, I'm just gonna slide it." And he did so slowly.

When the robber crouched to retrieve the wallet, Minato jolted up and threw the SoBe bottle at the left robber, the bottle hitting straight on his nose, disorientating him. He charged to the other robber, who tried to stand back up aim and shoot him, but Minato was smarter than that. He stepped on the shelf to elevate him above the robber and place his feet on the gun, kicking it back down and making the robber shoot himself in the foot. He landed on his feet and grabbed the robber's gun, turning around and pistol-whipping the confused robber in the face, knocking him out. Minato then turned back around to stomp on the right robber's head, who was kneeling in pain from the shot, knocking him out cold as well.

Minato brushed himself off and grabbed the SoBe bottle, placing the bottle on the counter, and then grabbed the Twix and the PayDay, and placed them on the counter as well, "I couldn't decide…" The blue-haired man said, making a notion that he picked both of his earlier choices. He then placed his payment on the shelf, "Keep the change. You take care of yourself." He added, grabbing his purchases and walking back to the door.

"Wait!"

He turned around to see the girl when he heard her speak to him.

"How did you manage… I-I mean… what should I tell the police?"

Minato smirked, "Tell them I was at the wrong place at the right time." And walked back to his bike.

He made it just in enough time for the pump to stop filling up, and made another grin. Getting on his motorcycle and starting the engine, he whispered to himself…

"Man, I love my job."

**The next _real _chapter will be up very very soon.**


	5. Chapter 5 Professor Arisato

**Author's Note:**

**I was able to update faster than expected, but that's no excuse for me to delay this chapter more than it should've been. This chapter is going to focus more on Minato settling down in Death City for the entirety of his vacation.**

**Chapter 4: Professor Arisato**

"Minato?" Maka said, standing up surprised.

"Yo… You serious about this Minato?" Soul asked, leaning forward in interest.

"Serious as I ever will be." Minato replied, and then took out a book hidden in the bottom of the desk, which was the book he stole from the library, and placed it on top of the desk, "Soul Potential will help your studies of hunting the 'Kishin' as I was told they were called. It is the other half to your Soul Wavelength, which _I _have some interests of myself. So, I teach you all about SP, and your teacher, Stein, teaches me about Soul Wavelength, it's a win-win." The blue-haired Messiah announced.

Most of the students were surprised, but one in particular was paying vigilant attention: a certain Grim Reaper…

_This is perfect. _Kid thought to himself, _This might help me learn more about Death's heritage, since Minato has had Death dwelling in him for 20 years now, he must know a lot more about my Father's and my power than I do. _Kid pondered…

Ever since Kid had his near-death experience while fighting Asura, and had his Lines of Sanzu connected for only that short time, Kid felt something inside him that he didn't feel before. He talked to his father and he said that it was quite possible, than when those lines connected for those only thirty seconds, a slight 'resonance' happened between father and son, and if the Lines were connected any longer, a dormant power that Lord Death already has, would've awakened within Kid as well. But because it was not for very long, it only awakened the—now dubbed by Kid himself—'Omega Death Cannon', which only is awakened when he's either in any danger, or if he pushes his Soul to the limit as of right now, and it puts a strain on his body, even for a Reaper body like his. For the past month, Kid pondered what could've happened if he awakened to his true potential, if he understood his powers more than he already did. And now he has the opportunity to find out.

"This is amazing! Now I'll have enough power to trash you, Minato!" Black*Star yelled, standing on top of his seat and pointing to the Persona-user.

"It's Professor Arisato now." Minato joked, "And we'll see about that."

_**ELSEWHERE**_

The room was barely lit, only bright enough to distinguish one object for another, and it was completely silent. Two of the people residing there were sitting down, one staring at the revolver he had in his hand. Another was sitting in front of a desk, delicately handling two test tubes that looked like both contained the same substances, but in fact, they were entirely different. And finally, the silence was broke.

"How exactly will you go about killing Arisato?" Takaya asked, taking his attention off the gun and looking over to the witch, Medusa.

"When you want to kill a god, you don't just make him bleed and be done with it. You make those who trust him suffer as well, you make their ties to him break and cease to recognize who he is. You make his heart experience the worst pain possible… experience painful memories, things that he never ever would want to see." Medusa answered, while still carefully handling the substances, and finally pouring the left contents into the right tube. The result made a black cloud sprout from the tube and form a disturbing image of a vicious skull that looked as if it was smiling. She then took a syringe and placed the needle into the tube and filled the syringe all the way to the top.

Takaya and Jin stood up and approached the witch, "And that would be, what, exactly?" Takaya asked.

Medusa made a wide grin, "Takaya this is what will eat Minato from the inside out. It's a fusion of the Black Blood and the sample of blood from those Shadows you were talking about. I don't have a name for it, but once this goes inside Minato, it will be called his own personal hell." She then elevated her arm and her snake tattoo twisted and manifested into a real snake. She stroked the serpent with her hand and made it approach her closer, then he injected the syringe into the snake, emptying the entire contents of the cartridge, then making another grin, "It's time. Go to Death City, and we'll be on the first step to the Messiah's downfall.

_**BACK AT THE ACADEMY**_

"So… Professor Arisato. What exactly differs SP from Soul Wavelength?" Maka asked, back down in her seat.

"Good question, Maka."

Maka looked to see Stein in the entrance of the classroom and then walk to the direction of the teacher's desk, standing next to Minato, "SP is a subconscious power that rests in the heart, rather than the soul. Being in one's true mind is the first step to awakening a dormant SP power. In Minato's case, his SP is channeled through his Persona, in order to use various attacks."

"Now, I won't be teaching you how to use a Persona. Forcing one to have such a power has dire consequences. I've met people that have had this trouble…" Minato added that last bit and flashed a quick wry face.

"Now, despite how powerful one's SP is, you must be cautious about your body. Minato's power may be limitless, but his body isn't." Stein added a mild warning.

"Exactly… The power of the Universe only means as much as how much at a single moment I can stand. My body is as mortal as it ever was, or ever will be. So I keep the SP at a constant level of 999. Any higher could damage myself, or worse, someone else." Minato said, informing that even though he was powerful, he was still a human, "So I must ask each and every one of you, to keep a constant hold of whatever power you may awaken with this training. Am I clear?"

"Crystal!" He heard the entire class affirm.

"Let's get started!" Minato yelled, raising a fist in the air.

The hours passed and Minato had a successful first day as a teacher, and when the day ended, he was asked to come back to the Death Room.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Death?" Asked Minato, seeing both the reaper and his Persona, Thanatos, still in his 'human' form.

"Minato, there's something we wanted to let you know about, to benefit you, of course." Lord Death said, "As I'm sure you've already speculated, Thanatos and I have known each other for a very long time. He was a trusted ally of mine. But what made him different from the rest… is that Thanatos was my very first weapon." The Reaper said.

"Wait… Thanatos… so, you're my Persona, a god of death, and a Weapon too?" Minato said, baffled by the sudden new information.

"Yes, Master." Thanatos answered, still in that cold voice, "I was the very first Death Scythe, and the strongest."

"So, what are you trying to tell me, Lord Death?" Minato asked the reaper.

"I want you to be, not only Thanatos' user as a Persona, but his Meister as a Weapon. Minato, I'd like to welcome you as a Meister at this Academy." Lord Death proposed.

"Lord Death…" Minato said, and then made a smirk, "Thanatos and I will do our best!"

"Excellent! Excellent!" The Reaper clapped his hands, "This is wonderful! Thank you, Minato!"

"No problem. Thanatos, let me see this scythe form of yours." The Messiah said to his newly appointed Weapon.

"Of course." Thanatos said, and then he glowed a dark purple and flowed into Minato's hand.

Minato grabbed the energy and it formed into a shape, and once the glowing subsided, it formed into something awe-inspiring. The scythe was almost twice as long as he was, which a grip that handled beautifully. The scythe's shaft was a—nearly black—purple with inscriptions on it that looked like it belonged to a… well… to a god of death. The top of the scythe had a disturbing-looking skull that had the mouth wide open, and had a few teeth that looked more like fangs. The blade was almost three feet long and looked deadly and sharp enough to easily slice through something as hard as steel. It glowed an aura that screamed 'power' and looked intimidating to even the hard-hearted of opponents.

Minato smirked as he nodded and then twirled the scythe around smooth as silk. It went around his body and he threw it into the air, and when he caught it he took a stance.

Then, Thanatos glowed again and the energy he formed into seeped into Minato's chest, who was surprised at that moment.

"_**I will serve as your Persona for now. But the moment danger comes, I'll return." **_The death god said.

"Well then Lord Death, I'll see you later." Minato said, and then turned around to head outside.

"Oh, one more thing!"

Minato turned back around to see Lord Death.

"I've made arrangements for you to stay at Gallows' Manor, meaning you'll be living with my son for the entirety of your stay here." Lord Death said, "I've already arranged for your belongings to be moved there. Kid will give you more details."

"I see. Thank you, Lord Death. Your son and I… I have a feeling he's the one I'll have most interest in finding out his hidden potential." Minato complimented.

"Yes, my son is already a fascinating warrior; it will intrigue me to find out how extraordinary he will be when he becomes a full-fledged Grim Reaper." Lord Death agreed.

The Messiah nodded, "Seeya."

The sun was already setting and Minato decided to quickly go to Kid's mansion, "I'll sightsee tomorrow."

Minato thought he was in no harm walking through Death City, even though not very many people were around in the street that he was walking through. In fact, he didn't see anyone. But he was in more trouble than he thought.

From the corner of a building, hiding out of plain sight, from behind Minato, was a snake, stalking him and leering at him. The serpent slithered into the street and approached its prey. It grew closer and closer, slithering faster and faster. And with one quick move.

"Ack!" Minato screamed as he felt a sharp pain on his left leg. He turned around and looked down to see the snake. He attempted to stomp on it, but the second his foot came in contact, the serpent disappeared in a black smoke, "The bloody hell was that?" He looked down and saw blood dripping violently from the wound. He grunted and placed his hand on it, "Cybele… could you please use Diarama."

"_**Why, certainly." **_The Persona complied, and the wound was cured in an instant.

The Messiah stood up and looked down the street into the distance, and then shrugged it off, turning back around and continuing his way to the mansion.

Back behind him, the snake made its way away from the buildings and returning to Medusa, who was watching through her crystal ball, grinning evilly and laughing, "Hahaha… Perfect. It begins!"

"So you used the snake to bite him and inject the substance into him, much like how a snake injects venom also." Jin said, tossing his grenade in the air.

"We're one step closer. Soon, Minato will be the exact opposite of how he is now: Hostile, vicious, pitiless, cruel, bloodthirsty… and of course…" Medusa said, and the black snake static emitted from her mouth, "Tainted with insanity!"

Minato arrived at Gallows' Manor and Kid was there to greet him at the door.

"Come in, Professor." Kid said, gesturing inside the house.

Minato walked through the door and took a look around the inside of the mansion, very much impressed at the fact that Kid lived here.

"Can I help you with anything?" Kid asked, walking over to him.

"No, I got my stuff, but I wouldn't mind knowing where my room was." Minato answered.

"Of course. Liz, Patty." Kid called, gesturing to the girls.

"Alright, Kid. C'mon, Professor. Your room's upstairs." Liz said, and Minato nodded and followed the two girls.

When the three walked down the long halls and approached the door to the room, walking inside and Minato placing his belongings on the floor, Minato took a stretch and yawned, "Thanks a bunch, girls. I'll take it from here. Might want to start taking notes on tomorrow's lecture." Minato said.

"You're starting to actually sound like a teacher." Liz commented and smiled, "We'll see you tomorrow, Professor." The twins exited the room and left Minato alone.

Minato first took a quick shower in the next door bathroom and put on appropriate attire for going to sleep. The door was left open, so the steam seeped in the other room, leaving the body-length mirror next to the bed in a foggy coating. Minato set his close up for the next day and grabbed his MP3 player that he had for years and years and set it on top of the clothes. But one thing was different about the headphones. They were red instead of the blue-ish grey….

Minato sighed and wiped the foggy coating of the mirror to get a look at his hair, but he saw something he wasn't expecting.

He saw a girl behind him, and she was just simply staring at him. His eyes widened in horror and he turned around, but saw no one. He breathed heavily for a second and shook his head, placing his hand over his eyes, and then looked back at his reflection, which was back to normal. He stared for a second and whispered a name…

"Hamuko…"

**Author's Note:**

**I told you on that one-shot that the next chapter was going to be up soon. And now I have official news that this will indeed be made into a series. They will all focus on Minato and the Academy, and the stories will line-up with each other. So be ready for what may be my greatest conceived fanfic ever made and ever will be made.**


	6. Chapter 6 We Are Who We Choose to Be

**Before I start this chapter, allow me to address some things that might change in the story. The actuality of the changes happening depends on 1) whether I feel it would be best, 2) if the fans are okay with it, or give their two-cents on the matter. **

**The reason I am so concerned with this now all of a sudden is the recent release of the first trailer for the Persona 3 Movie "Spring of Birth". What concerns me is that Minato now has a full-on canon name.**

**His canon name is now Makoto Yuki. Now I don't mind the name change at all, by any means. It's nice to finally have him given a real name and no more debating on whether or not his manga name is really relevant to the Persona series.**

**I looked up what exactly the name means. And apparently, if translated correctly, the name "Makoto Yuki" means, "noble tower of bonds", how fitting for the Persona 3 storyline. **

**Now, should I change, "Minato" to "Makoto", it would only be after this story is finished, and we go into the second installment of the 'Messiah' series. To put it the best way I can, Minato will still be Minato for this entire story, but if I decide to go with his real name, he'll then be Makoto in the second installment.**

**Now, I'm concerned of what my fellow readers and reviewers might think of this. I'm just as concerned with the continuity as you probably are right now. You guys come first to me, so allow your voices to be heard. Should I stick with Minato for the entire Messiah series, or would it be best for his real name to be better advertised with this series? Your opinions matter…**

**While I'm at it, I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story so far! Please continue to stick with me as we continue through this epic crossover, and hope to make this story even BIGGER! Here it is!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: We Are Who We Choose to Be<strong>

* * *

><p>A strange waking sensation whelmed Maka as her mind gave orders to her body to become active in the middle of the night. She made a small sigh as she grabbed her clock, lazily trying to make out the number shining a dull red in comparison to the blackness of the night that engulfed her bedroom.<p>

**3:23 A.M.**

She pulled her blanket off herself and made light footsteps through her apartment as she made her way to the kitchen. Blair was laying on the couch, snoozing away while in her cat form, not even remotely aware of Maka's presence there. She grabbed a cup, not caring how large, or what cup it was, and held it under the faucet and turning the cold release to unleash water, quickly filling the cup to its full capacity. Putting the cup to her lips, she felt relief wash over her as her thirst, that was the culprit behind her sudden awakening, was ultimately satiated.

She couldn't believe how much happened in a matter of only a few days. It was only four days ago that she became acquainted with a man that unveiled so many things that she wasn't even aware of existed. How SP was another half of Soul Wavelength, and how that even Minato is susceptible to the tolls of a mortal even though his Soul is near limitless.

For the past two days, he's been teaching about how to access the SP within them, and when the morning comes that day, he's hoping to teach the students their first SP skill. She was anxiously anticipating the lesson, but her eagerness wasn't close to Kid's fidgeting of the matter for some reason.

Maka rubbed her eyes while she stiffened a short yawn. Hoping to get whatever more sleep she could get before she had to get up to get ready for school. When she was in the midst of turning around to head back to her room, something caught her eye outside the window. She crept to the window in silence as she looked outside to see the academy, which still had the candles burning bright underneath the crescent moon. She saw a glimmer of light shine again underneath the academy's candle to the right.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she slipped on a light jacket, still in her pajamas, and walked outside to follow the path to the stairs leading to the academy. She didn't know why, she thought it was stupid of herself, but she was trying to be as incognito as possible so she could see what was going on without any interference hindering what she could possibly see.

Peering over a perfect place for her to observe, she saw her new teacher, Minato, standing idly, not noticing that he had eyes upon him, with an ominous-looking scythe in his hands.

Maka blinked a few times, _So that must be what Thanatos looks like in weapon form. Kid and I were surprised to find out Thanatos was a weapon _and _a Persona… _She thought to herself.

Observing closely, Maka realized how majorly he was panting, and looking closer, his face was marked with water droplets that would fall aimlessly from his nose and chin.

Maka made a wry face, _He's training? How long has he been out here?_

"You came here to, huh?"

Maka's eyes widened when she heard a calm, almost gentle, voice emit from behind her. She turned around and saw the young reaper with his arms folded and looking at her with an amused look.

"Are you _that _surprised to see me here?"

"Yeah actually… Professor Arisato doesn't suspect you're here either then, I take it?" Maka asked, turning her attention back to the Messiah.

"No he doesn't." Kid simply answered.

"What brings you here, Kid?" Maka turned her head back to the reaper.

"Well, I was studying the notes Professor Arisato gave us Wednesday, and I needed a break. I took a walk around Death City and found myself hear for some reason." Kid explained. Maka made an 'oh' with her mouth and then turned her attention, once more, to the blue-haired Persona-user.

Minato made a deep sigh and then twirled the scythe around his body in a smooth, stylish motion and took a stance, "Alright, one more round and we'll call it a night." The Messiah's aura grew into the same shade of blue as his hair and the scythe's blade made a purple hue, the same shade as the scythe itself. Minato then made a swift motion with his feet, and then with his hands, pulling Thanatos back and then motioning around him as he slid forward in a singular motion, throwing the purple scythe forward.

Kid and Maka heard him utter something that made them guess that this whole time, he has been practicing a move…

"_**Roulette SPIN!" **_The scythe twirled in the air so fiercely and so fast that the purple glow on the blade looked nothing more than a blur and, like a boomerang, it approached back to Minato after reaching a certain point in the air in front of him.

Maka and Kid were impressed at Minato's movements, but there astonishment turned to worry when something happened…

When Minato tried to grab the scythe, he made a misjudgment, and the blade passed his palm, only to dig clean through the top of his hand, and then made another injury across his entire forearm, the mark going up his arm instead of across it.

The Messiah let out a sound of pain as he placed his other hand over his arm to apply as much pressure as he could. Blood was dripping from the tips of his fingertips onto the cold bricks of the academy's entrance, along with blood from his arm that painted a few more bricks with crimson.

"Goddammit!" Minato cried, wincing and grunting… as he was on his knees… Thanatos transformed back into his 'human' form and approached the Messiah with haste.

The two meisters were going to intervene, but it seemed as though Thanatos was going to take care of it. He placed his hands on the Persona-user and the wounds on his arm and hand glowed blue-ish white, and the openings were patched up… to a certain extent, anyway.

"Master, are you alright?" Thanatos asked, "That'll have to do until we get back to Gallows Manor and wrap it up."

Minato nodded, still in a serious amount of pain, but he knew he wasn't in any real danger of blood loss, but he still admitted to himself, "Shit… that hurt. I'm not as young as I used to be. I haven't done this in a while so… I guess I'm a little rusted."

"You haven't been out on the battlefield in a very long time." Thanatos said, "We have to go. We've stayed here long enough."

The Persona-user nodded and made their way down the long stairs to the rest of the city on their way to Gallows Manor. They were soon gone from the reaper and the girl's sight. Kid stepped out of their hiding spot and approached the stairs, looking downward, regardless of the Death God and the Messiah not seen anywhere at that time. Kid heard footsteps behind him and saw Maka join his side, looking down also.

"I was worried there for a second…" Maka commented, blinking a few times as he turned her attention to the sky…

"Yeah… I was too." Kid agreed, "It seems like he's pushing himself too far. He doesn't have to rush things."

"I don't think he knows that himself…" Maka replied.

The young reaper looked at the scythe meister questioningly, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's here for as long as his vacation time, right? Maybe he thinks that it isn't enough time. I mean, what if he isn't finished with all he has to teach when he has to leave?" Maka explained, and afterwards, sighed.

"I see your point." Kid responded. He then took out his golden pocket watch and made a small flicker of his eyebrows, "It's really late… Actually, now, it's really early." He said as he placed the watch back in his pocket, "I'm heading back home…" Kid said, but before he made any more than two steps forward, Maka's voice piped up.

"Wait…" She said, almost pleadingly… the reaper turned around and looked at her puzzlingly, "Umm… if you don't mind…" Maka said, and then pointed to the distanced of the city. Kid followed her finger to see an orange shade appear in the horizon, "Will you watch the sunrise with me, Kid?"

Kid blinked at the much unexpected request. However, judging by his next response, he seemed quite pleased about it, "Of course, Maka."

And so the two meisters sat on the edge of the steps, both silent as they watched the sun itself finally make a small peek above the desert that surrounded all sides of the city, making the orange surrounding the distance shine even brighter. It was the magnificent type of sunrise where one could look over to the opposite direction and see the sky still show a dark blue in contrast to the amazing light.

The silence broke when Kid started to speak, to which Maka perked up her ears and listened as she looked at him as he continued to stare at the rising sun…

"You know… I'm glad I decided to enroll into the academy." Kid said, and he then turned his attention higher to the sky, "When I first came here, I wasn't quite sure what would happen. The whole reason I said I wanted to register was because it gave me an excuse to head to Professor Stein's lab, I cared not about the consequences of my sudden decision." Kid tilted his head, "I was really worried that night. About what was going to happen. At that time, you four were complete strangers to me, and I interacted with barely anyone other than my father, Liz, and Patty. But I tensed up when I thought you all in danger. It was just another thing that father wouldn't explain to me what was really going on, simply telling me it was a remedial lesson. I told him that he was truly going too overboard with his motives. I thought you were going to die."

"Kid you were… worried about us?" Maka said, the tone in her voice matching the look in her eyes.

"Yes I was." Kid answered, "And I never suspected I'd come across you all, but I did, when Black*Star and Soul challenged me in front of the school."

"On your first day, no less." Maka giggled, "You didn't even enter through the doors."

Kid chuckled along, "True…" Kid looked down and fiddled a bit with the rings on both his fingers, "And from that point on, we simply started to hang out more often and often… Black*Star and I searched for Excalibur… the damn putrid sword…" Kid's eyes narrowed for a small second as disgust coated his voice for the same amount of time, "We trained together, relaxed at our houses together, not long after, we put our lives in each other's hands and looked out for each other." Kid then had a reminiscent look in his features as he quoted something he heard a few days ago… "'Strength of heart, when united, is barred by no door.' That was what Minato said, wasn't it?"

Maka nodded and continued to pay vigilant attention, as he turned to look at her straight in the eyes, sincerity in those mesmerizing golden orbs of his, "I think, after our fight with Asura, that I understand what that means."

Maka nodded as she made a wide grin, "Yeah, I do too."

Kid grinned himself and stood up, looking to see the sun in its full splendor, "I'm going to go get ready for school." He said as he took a few steps down without looking back.

"Kid." Maka called to him, and the young reaper turned around and looked up to see her green eyes smiling as brightly as her actual smile, "You know… Soul and I are still working on creating a Death Scythe… and sooner or later, you're going to be a real Grim Reaper. And, of course, Black*Star now has the new goal of surpassing Minato now. The three of us are going to make it to the top. Together." Her voice didn't lose a single ounce of its strength as her confidence shined in her words like a burning star.

Kid made a sincere grin, "I know."

* * *

><p>That morning, the excitement in the air grew in the classroom as Minato was ready to reveal what SP move he was going to teach everyone today.<p>

"Alright… you all have spent the past two days learning about how to access at least a fraction of SP. Now we're going to see how well you tapped into your potential. Today you will be learning your first SP skills. Now class, you ready!?" He said energetically, putting a fist in the air.

"READY!" The class responded.

"Ay Yo, Professor," Soul called out, "What's with the bandages on your hand and arm?"

"Oh…" Minato paused for a minute, needing to make any story he could, "I got cut by some glass shards that weren't picked off from the window pane." Minato made a wry face and took a stick of chalk to write on the board.

Kid and Maka looked at each other from across the room, both equally making the same expression of, _Not even a __**good **__lie… _both in concern, and in exasperation.

The chalk clicked and brushed across the board and finally the words came into light as he put the chalk stick down and looked back at the class.

_**TARUKAJA, SUKUKAJA, AND RAKUKAJA**_

"These skills allow the user to increase his or her attack performances, agility/accuracy, or defense. This will better your fighting performances significantly, and lessen the time it takes to take down a Kishin." Minato said, knowing all of the principles of each skill by heart.

Kid and Maka took down notes attentively, Black*Star was fidgeting as he continuously tapped his right foot on the ground, ready for action. Soul had his feet kicked up on top of his desk, giving his classic toothy grin as usual.

"Alright. Who should I pick first? Maka, Black*Star, Kid." Minato called, "Just you, your weapons will join in later."

The three meisters walked down the steps and in front of the teacher's desk without a second thought. Minato smiled at their punctuality, and then flickered his eyebrows when his cell phone went off. He dug into his pocket and checked his notifications.

**From: Spirit**

**Going for drinks after school. Feel like tagging along?**

Minato made a grin as he quickly replied, not wanting to delay class any longer than it had to.

**Sounds good to me. Meet you outside.**

"Anyway…" Minato murmured, sliding the device back into his pocket, "Black*Star, I think you should try Sukukaja. You seem to be the fastest."

"Sure am. I'm a lot more than that!" The assassin boasted.

"We'll see." Minato replied, "Let's see what you can do. Have you been practicing SP focusing?"

"Sure have. It's about time I found something worth my skills! Studying for tests is for kids."

"Studying for tests got a really beautiful woman with red hair to invite me to her room ten years ago, for your information." Minato bragged, making the assassin fall silent, which was the first time anyone ever was able to do so.

"Alright Black*Star, I want you to focus on mending your soul with your body. Imagine your speed is being increased just by thinking that you're faster than you are." Minato instructed the assassin as best as he could.

Black*Star nodded, "O-kay!" he said as he expanded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Concentrate." Minato whispered, "Make sure you know what you're doing."

About twenty seconds passed before the assassin squinted and made a small sigh. He tried again. And again, and again, and again.

Until…

"Sukukaja!" The assassin yelled, and sure enough, the landscape he was standing on glowed a bright green, and a pillar of green light engulfed him for a half-second before subsiding. He opened his eyes and, as if he teleported, he appeared next to Kid, then Maka, then Minato, then all across the room, energy coursing through him, and he loved every second of it.

"I'm here! Now I'm over here! Now here! No, over here! Right here!" Black*Star continued to blurt out.

"Well done, Black*Star." Minato complimented, and then walked over to Maka, "Alright Maka, Soul being your scythe gives a wider range than Kid's guns, Liz and Patty, or Black*Star's chain scythe, Tsubaki, meaning you can block attacks easier, yes?" Minato asked.

"Yes." Maka affirmed.

"Alright, then, I'm going to try to teach you Rakukaja, increasing your natural defense against an attack. Like Black*Star, you've been practicing?"

"Of course." Maka said, nodding confidently.

That energetic reply made Minato look down, making a quick wince, quick enough for them to not notice, _She's reminding me more and more of her. _The Persona-user shook his head, and continued, "Alright. Concentrate."

Maka closed her eyes and listened to what her teacher had to say.

"Alright… Imagine that you have a natural shield around your skin that acts as pseudo armor. Not exactly invincible, but absorbs some of the blow." Minato, once again, tried his best to explain the principles of activating Rakukaja.

Maka caught on sooner than Black*Star, and called out, "Rakukaja!" The area below her emitted a purple pillar of light that engulfed her. She gave a grin as she knew just from breathing that she was more endured than before.

"Alright… for a test..." Minato said without warning.

"Wait, wha—!?" Maka said, but before she could object…

"Orpheus! Bash!" A metallic Persona that looked like Minato himself, took the lyre from his back and swung across, which hit Maka, but to her surprise it felt more like someone gave her a shove, rather than a large metal object injuring her.

"Wow! I barely felt anything!" Maka was astonished, but Minato just laughed.

"Oh, that wasn't the effect of the skill, I was just teasing you and bopped you, that's all. But the skill does work, nonetheless." Minato grinned to the scythe meister.

_I am Maka-chopping the HELL out of him later! _She screamed in her head.

"Alright, Kid. I saved you for last, because, judging by your reaper body, I assume your physical prowess is significantly larger than a regular human's." Minato said, walking over to the young reaper and asking him about his abilities as a reaper.

"That's correct." Kid affirmed.

"Okay. You know what to do. Perform Tarukaja." Minato said, and when Kid closed his eyes, "Don't just rely on your reaper strength, imagine you are going beyond that. You must break through that lid. Be in your true mind." Minato instructed.

Kid nodded and focused. Soon he caught on, and he did so even faster than Maka did, who managed to accomplish her skill faster than Black*Star accomplished his. He called out in confidence, "Tarukaja!" The area under Kid emitted a pillar of orange light that engulfed Kid. Kid nodded and clenched his left fist and raised it mid-center of his body, "So this is what SP can do. Incredible."

"I'd rather take your word for it and assume you've gotten stronger for a bit. I heard you can make craters with a single dropkick normally, sooo… rather not have to pay for repairs." Minato commented while shrugging, "Alright, next three up."

* * *

><p>Hours passed and Minato met Spirit at the gate, like he said he would. They headed to a nearby bar, which Minato question both the look and the name "Chupa Carbra's" but shrugged it off and entered anyway.<p>

"Alrighty! The usual! Drinks are on me, Minato."

"Well then I'm not holding back." Minato accepted the offer, "I'll take a Cuba Libre." Minato said, raising his hand to the bartender.

A few hours passed without Spirit's and Minato's knowing of it, the small talk became the fuel to the conversation fire until some things get a little stale…

"Well, I don't know about you, Spirit but, I've certainly gotten a little numb-headed." Minato said, a bit of slurring in his voice.

"I know whatchya mean." Spirit nodded, however, he didn't know what the hell he was saying either.

"So I understand that Maka is your daughter." Minato said, taking a swig from his glass. And when he set the glass down, he look to see Spirit's eyes wide and then he abruptly pounded his head into the table… "Urgh! I know we've gotten a little better at talking recently, but she's still mad at meee!"

"Mad…? Uhh, did I miss something?" Minato questioned as he picked back up his glass and swished around what liquid was left inside, the ice clinging to the glass with a soft 'ding' each time.

"Half a year ago, I screwed up my marriage and Maka is taking my wife… EX-wife's side." Spirit mumbled.

"Uhh-huhhh?" Minato said, however was still uncomprehending just exactly what was he complaining about, "I know just what you need." Minato said, smirking and standing up.

"Huh? WAH!" Spirit exclaimed as Minato dragged him by the collar and jokingly pulled him outside.

* * *

><p><em><strong>LATER<strong>_

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><p>Maka got herself ready for bed when she and Soul heard the doorbell ring and Maka puzzlingly opened the door to reveal their teacher, who looked like he was having trouble seeing and had Spirit's arm over his shoulder, who was out cold. Minato was laughing, "Hey Maka."<p>

"Wha—dad? What are you doing here? I mean, what happened?" Maka asked, because, after speculation, she saw that Minato had a bruise on the left of his forehead.

"We drank, we fought, and he made his ancestor's proud." He remarked, and carried the Death Scythe inside and finally made him lay down on the couch…

"Maaann…" Spirit slurred, "I know you're 'The Messiah' and all… but duuuude, you pack one hell of a punch." The Death Scythe padded his hand on Minato's shoulder, who laughed along.

"You too." He stood up and made a glance at Maka, "Welp, thank god it's the weekend, because I definitely cannot teach with the hangover I'm going to get tomorrow." The Messiah admitted, more to himself than to Maka and Soul.

"It seems you're enjoying yourself here in Death City." Maka said, raising an eyebrow, confused scenes-how she's never seen him act like this.

"Oh, definitely. I wasn't able to go to anywhere public while in Japan, so I'm having a blast." Minato said, walking back to the door.

"What all did you talk about?" The scythe meister asked, following him to the door.

Minato took a second and looked back at her, "You got time to talk before you get to bed?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

The Persona-user opened the door and walked out the apartment's halls without another word, and Maka followed him silently too. They walked outside to see the moon shining dully underneath them, the city calming down and coming to an end for the night.

"Spirit told me how you two aren't exactly hitting the sweetest notes…" Minato said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Maka narrowed her eyes and turned away from him, "Let me guess, you're taking his side, since you're a guy almost his age!?" She outbursted.

"I'm taking both your sides."

"Huh?" The young girl turned to see him make a wry smile to her and continued to speak.

"You have every right to be angry at him. It's only natural. He cheated on your mother, and she didn't seem too happy about it either. It was indeed wrong of him. As it was wrong of me."

"What?" Maka gasped for a second, her mouth still partially opened.

"Yes…" Minato confessed, "When I was in high school, I was a bit of a womanizer myself. I had…" Minato paused for a second, counting to himself, and using his hands to do so, "Seven women in one year alone. And two weren't even human. One was an immortal elevator attendant and one was an android."

"Minato, is this the drinks talking?" Maka asked, a little skeptical about the two women who weren't ordinary.

"Nope. I'm drunk, but I'm not hammered." Minato said, sure of himself that he was talking clearely, "Elizabeth and Aigis. You can ask them yourself if you get the chance." The Messiah then went back to the subject at hand, "But I atoned. I answered for my mistakes. I settled down and eventually, I married the one I knew I wanted to be with." The Persona-user dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo he held it in front of Maka for her to see for herself, and she blinked for a second before taking it and looking at what the photo contained.

The photo contained Minato holding a gentle arm around a woman as beautiful and stunning as a goddess. Her head was underneath his chin and she was smiling very naturally, as if she felt safe and secured in his arms. She had a beautiful white dress that matched her bewitching appearance, with long crimson hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

"You mentioned a red-haired woman earlier in class… This is her?" Maka asked, which Minato gave a warm smile and a nod, despite his condition right now, he had a genuine expression. His smile made Maka not be able to help but grin as well, "She's beautiful." She said as she returned the photo.

"Thank you." Minato said, as he inserted the photo back into the jacket pocket, "Her name is Mitsuru."

Maka made a small nod, _He must really love her._

"But I had to apologize to her. I had to set things right. For the first time in my life, I did what my heart told me to do. And I screwed up pretty bad. You should've seen it, even girls I didn't go out with at that school stared daggers at me for a while. After a hell of a load of apologies and trying to think of the right words, I made everything right again." Minato then turned to the young girl standing before him, "I think your dad is trying to atone in his own way."

Maka couldn't believe that her own teacher was also a player in his youth, and yet turned into this man standing before her. He made everything right on his very own, just like he saved the world single-handedly too. It made her think… Has she been too hard on her father? Is it time to give him a chance? She'll allow time to tell.

"I'm not asking you to forgive and forget. I'm only asking you to give him a chance. Deal?" Minato asked, kneeling down and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll think about it, deal?" Maka said, grinning.

"Countering a deal with another deal? To your teacher too?" Minato joked along, smiling too, "Alright, thinking about it's good with me."

"Goodnight, Professor." Maka said, approaching the door and turning the knob.

"We are who we choose to be, Maka. As long as it's a purpose you believe in, there will always be someone who can help you fulfill it." Minato made one last statement before parting ways with Maka and heading to the Gallows Manor.

* * *

><p>Minato opened the doors to the large mansion and walked into the living-room to see Kid, Liz, and Patty sitting on different couches, in front of a TV, who all three looked to see their teacher the second he walked in.<p>

"There you are, Professor. We were wondering where you were." Liz said.

"Yeah, yeah, you almost missed the best part of the movie, Minato-guy!" Patty bounced up and down while Kid couldn't help but grin and speak his own part.

"Where were you? Did you enjoy yourself?" Kid asked.

"Yeah, just went out for drinks." Minato said. Kid shook his head.

"So is the story of an adult."

The Messiah gladly made himself comfortable, sitting on a couch, and glancing at the TV, which was playing the movie, _**In Time**_. As he relaxed and paid attention to the midst of the movie, he started to reminisce about his past events with his friends, and how his interactions with these new people have gained him new bonds that'll surely grow.

Perhaps Minato Arisato found his "home away from home".

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><p><strong>Alright, before I sign off, I'm going to remind you again. Give your voice out about that option I have given to you guys. This really has been a fun project that I've loved working with. And I hope to make more. See you guys next time.<strong>

**-Arcananox**


	7. Chapter 7 First Step to Demise

**Chapter 6: First Step to Demise**

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><p><em>Where… where am I?<em>

Darkness… that was the only thing that was seen as Minato felt a chill run down his spine as the air surrounding him was cold. He wasn't certain if this was a dream. It felt too real to be a dream. No sounds could be heard from anywhere. Even as he tried to walk, his footsteps made a muffled sound as if the ground he was walking on wasn't stable. The Messiah knelt down and placed two fingers on the ground to feel what he was walking on. To his disturbance, it felt like a liquid substance was coated on his fingers he raised his hands back up to inspect it even further.

_Is this… blood?_

It seemed darker than regular blood, however. He didn't think much of it, though, assuming that it only _looked _black because of the darkness surrounding him. He stood back up and then contemplated in his mind what to do, since he didn't know where he was or why he was there. But then he looked down to his feet to see a sheet of white fog emerge under him, and then he looked around to see the fog was everywhere now.

The Persona-user started to grow anxious. He felt his heart make a few unsteady beats. This was very uncharacteristic of him. He couldn't remember the last he ever felt fear. He told himself to calm down, and he tried his best to maintain his composure, something he was good at, and he was able to at an extent. It didn't last long, though.

A sound could be heard from behind him and he quickly turned around and saw a familiar face. A young girl with red hair and wearing a familiar school uniform.

Minato's eyes grew wide as he gasped and had his mouth gaped and started to take a step back, his fear crawling back up his spine and returning ten-fold. He hesitantly spoke, "H-Hamuko?"

The girl spoke, "Big-brother. Get out of here."

"What?" Minato said, and he turned around again when he heard another noise from the other side of him. It all happened so fast he had to comprehend what happened for a few seconds.

Another Hamuko was behind him, but this time, she had a dangerous knife in her right hand, and she was closer to him this time. Close enough to grab him by the throat and make a thrust of the knife, the pain manifesting in his chest as he made a loud screech of agony. He fell backwards, holding onto his wound as he look behind to see the other Hamuko gone.

"Hamuko, why are you..." Minato gasped, he then felt the pain even more as Hamuko kicked the Persona-user down and then she raised the knife to thrust downwards.

Minato then felt the black liquid engulf him; it even felt like he was violently being pulled in by it. Before long his entire person was in the blackness. Minato grunted as he felt like he was drowning, and finally, his consciousness faded.

* * *

><p>Minato opened his eyes and he jolted out of his bed, gasping violently and looking around him, "What the hell…" Minato saw that he was back in the real world. Or was he? He didn't know. It felt so real… In fact, Minato looked to his chest where he was 'stabbed' and after placing a hand on it, it felt sore. There was no blood, there was no opening, there wasn't even a red mark, but his pain still felt relative to his dream experience.<p>

He felt his head press against itself as he clutched his temple and sighed a bit. It was the weekend, so he thought he could possibly get some work done on what lesson he what going to teach the next week. Teaching wasn't exactly a walk in the park. He led an entire team of comrades ten years ago, but this was different. He never had to tell his teammates how to perform a certain talent that only he had, he just told them the best course of action for any operation or mission they had. Unfortunately, in the condition that he is in right now, he would do poorly. He was thinking about teaching them elemental SP attacks, but he decided it was best to rest, and maybe talk to Doctor Stein about what happened to see if it means anything.

A knock on the door made him jolt a bit, _Dammit! _He thought, _Since when did I get so twitchy!?_

"Professor Arisato, is everything alright? We heard a noise." Liz asked through the door.

"Yeah, Liz, I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." Minato said to the Thompson Sister, and he stood up from his bed and went to his wardrobe to get his attire for the day. Getting dressed and stretching a bit, he checked his clock.

**10:00 A.M.**

"Really? My God, I never sleep in that late. Not even when I was a kid…" Minato said, shaking his head and exiting his room.

He walked down the mansion stairs and saw Kid, Liz, and Patty was there to greet him in the kitchen, eating breakfast with smiles as they saw their teacher.

"Good morning, Minato-guy!" Patty exclaimed, waving with the hand that she was holding her fork with.

"Morning, guys." Minato said, waving also.

"Did you sleep okay, Professor?" Liz asked, turning around to see him as she was the one sitting in the chair that was facing the opposite direction.

"Uhh… Yeah." The blue-haired man hesitated for a second, but then quickly answered, making a wry face while doing so. Kid caught on to the expression and knew Minato was lying… yet again. The Messiah then walked over to the left side of the fridge to see a coffee maker with the pot still containing fresh contents of coffee, much to his delight. He grabbed a cup that had the famous skull symbol that he's been seeing throughout the entire city and placed it on the counter.

Suddenly another sharp pain hit him in the head, and he made a slight grunt as he placed a hand on his temple. The pain subsided after a few seconds, but the Persona-user felt something strange going on.

"Professor, are you okay?" Kid asked, looking over to Minato to see him nod.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Minato made a few waves of his hand and focused back to the coffee, pouring it into the cup, but the way his hands were motioning, it was obvious that something was wrong. His hand was shaking as the liquid was filling up the mug, and after putting back the pot on the burner, he took a suspicious glance at the coffee that was in the mug. The pitch blackness of the coffee reminded him of the strange black liquid in his dreams. He sighed and shook his head.

"Professor, has this been going on for a while? The headaches, I mean." Kid asked, still insistent on knowing what exactly was going on with the Persona-user.

"No, just this morning…" Minato said, quick, and in a tone like he was annoyed by the question.

"Do you have a general idea as do how it was triggered?" Again, Kid asked. He narrowed his eyes like some idea was swimming in his head. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but Kid was a very perceptive individual, and he might have had a hunch as to what was going on. He just hoped to God he was wrong.

"No…" Minato said, a bit more aggressive than the last time.

"Anything else you've been experiencing?"

"_**None of your business!" **_

The young reaper perked his head a bit, while Liz grew wide eyed, and Patty was startled enough to hid behind her big sister.

Minato gasped slightly as he just now realized what he had done, "Sorry, I… I know you're just trying to help, I just… I mean, I…" _Dammit! _He yelled in his head. The Messiah then walked over to the coat rack and took his black jacket, "I'm going to Stein's. I don't know when I'll be back." The Persona-user quickly exited the mansion.

"What was that all about?" Liz asked.

"Yeah… he was scary." Patty commented, peeking from Liz's shoulder.

"He's never acted like that." Kid said, but not out of concern, but out of suspicion, "I think I know what was wrong." The young reaper stated, knowing full well that if it really is what he's predicting, things are about to get chaotic once again.

* * *

><p><strong>1 Hour Later<strong>

* * *

><p>Minato was in the strange laboratory of Doctor Stein, talking to the doctor about his problem. He didn't say anything about the nightmare because he thought it was irrelevant, just about the headaches.<p>

"I see…" The doctor said in reply to Minato's description. Stein then stood up from his chair, "I probably have something for you. Just wait here." The Professor walked to the medicine cabinets and opened the top right one and pushed a few capsule bottles to the side.

"I can't remember the last time I had headaches like this." Minato said, rubbing his temples and sighing, "But damn, that nightmare didn't exactly help."

That remark made Stein go off focus, making his arm sway off and knock down a few bottles as he turned around and looked at the Messiah, his glasses glaring in the light above them, "Nightmare?"

"Yeah. Why?" Minato said, still unaware, and also confused at Stein reaction.

Stein took an inhale from the cigarette he was smoking and blew out a cloud of smoke, gaining back his composure, "Have you been anxious lately?"

"Yeah, sorta. I was training the night before almost all night because I couldn't sleep." Minato answered, confused again by his question.

"Have you been getting easily agitated? Do things you might not normally do?"

"Well, I snapped at Kid before I came here. I don't get angry that fast. In fact," Minato then raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember the last time I actually got angry."

"Last question… Any hallucinations?" Stein said, his expression darkening, lowering his head.

"A few days ago I saw…" Minato paused, the fact that he saw his dead sister disturbed him, "Well, I just saw something. Okay what's with these questions?" The Messiah asked, standing up.

"Come with me." Stein said, which Minato did so, still with confusion.

The two headed to his research room, which was surrounded by stitches and tubes. The Professor sat Minato down on a separate chair from his. He then opened a cabinet to pull out a syringe and wiped the needle with alcohol to prevent unnecessary infection. He took another wipe and told Minato to roll up his right sleeve, and he did so. He then wiped Minato's wrist with the alcohol and put the syringe in, pulling it so the contents having a small amount of red.

"So, what are you doing exactly?" Minato asked.

"Checking to see if you have anything foreign in your system. Conditions like this don't just come out of thin air." Stein said. He didn't want to make Minato concerned, but the doctor had the same worry that Kid did. He wanted to make sure first, "I'm taking a blood test. I should have the results by tomorrow. Until then, you let me know if your symptoms get any worse." Stein said, in a tone that made him sound like he was eager or anxious.

"Umm… okay?" Minato replied.

"Well, then, take today to rest. Come back tomorrow." Stein said, and turned around to get to whatever work he was going to do with the blood sample.

Minato nodded and walked out of his laboratory to head back to the Gallows Manor. The sun was still high in the sky in the morning light; he checked his watch to see that it still wasn't even noon, however he couldn't think of anything he wanted to do around the city, so going back to the mansion seemed like the best thing to do.

* * *

><p>Walking through the mansion doors, he was only greeted by the sound of silence, he called out to see if anyone was around, but still no answer, "Looks like they're out. Maybe some quietness will help." Minato said, but then he thought to himself, <em>Then again, I haven't spoke to them in a while.<em> He then made the decision to contact them.

Minato grabbed a laptop that he had in one of his bags that was in his room and went back downstairs to sit on one of the living room couches and place the computer on the table. Typing around the computer, and choosing a contact, he waited for a few seconds before the screen flashed and a familiar face appeared on the screen. A girl with brown eyes and brown hair that went down to her shoulders. What made him smile was she was speaking in Minato's native language, so it had a bit of a nostalgic feeling hearing her speak Japanese.

"Oh, hi, Minato-san!" Nanako greeted with a bright smile.

"Hi, Nanako-chan." Minato replied, "How's high-school?"

"It's great. I'm attending the same high school you went to!" She answered.

Minato blinked a few times, "Really? I had a feeling you'd go to Yasogami, like your big-bro."

"Dad decided for us to move to Iwatodai because it was closer to Tokyo so I could see big-bro more." Nanako replied, smiling warmly after the mention of Yu.

"How's Narukami doing?" The Messiah asked.

"He's doing well. In fact he's here." Nanako replied, and then she turned her head and Minato heard her say, "Hey big-bro, Minato-san wanted to say hi." The brunette said, and then she moved out of the chair to allow the aforementioned person to sit on the chair. His bowl cut was now much shorter, and he also sported a five-o-clock shadow like Minato did. So now he looked like his uncle Ryotaro.

Yu made a slight smirk, "How's it going, Arisato? Are you enjoying your vacation in America so far?"

"My vacation has gotten… pretty interesting to say the least." Minato said.

"Where exactly are you? The place you are in the background doesn't look like your average hotel…" The silverette asked, looking over Minato's shoulder to see where he was sitting.

"Uhh… It's special?" Minato answered.

"I see." Yu replied.

"Narukami, you look beat." Minato said, seeing that the silver-haired Persona-user's eyes seemed dulled out.

"Just a long day at work, is all." He answered.

"Long day...? But… Oh, crap I forgot about the time-zones. How late is it over there?" Minato said, facepalming that he forgot that it's not the same time everywhere.

"Not late. The night's still young." Yu said, making Minato think for a second.

"Alright, well, hate to cut this hello short, but I need to talk to somebody else about something. You take care of yourself, Narukami." Minato said apologetically.

"Yeah, you too." The silverette replied, understanding that Minato's next conversation seemed urgent.

Minato clicked off the screen and then went to another contact. Again, he only had to wait for a few seconds before somebody else came up on screen. The red-haired woman seemed please to see him.

"Hello, Minato." Mitsuru greeted, smiling to see him after a while.

"Hey, Mitsuru. How has the Kirijo Convention been?" Minato asked, knowing that she had to host a convention that hosted many inventors that specialized in the electronics division.

"It's been interesting. In fact, we've had some inventors come in that have exceeded some of Kirijo's work. One person in particular." Mitsuru answered.

"Is Tony Stark showing off?" Minato asked, "I heard he was going to be there when I watch the news in California."

"Stark is a good person, Minato. He's just a little eccentric." The crimson-haired woman reasoned.

"I think you should cut a deal with him. I could use one of those suits." Minato joked.

"I'll put in a recommendation." Mitsuru joked along, smiling.

"Anyway, Mitsuru, I have a question." Minato asked, and then he repositioned himself in a more serious manner, "Shadows are manifested from people's suppressed emotions, right?"

"Yes… we've known that for ten years. But why the sudden question? I thought you barely wanted anything to do with them anymore." Mitsuru asked, wondering why he suddenly brought up that subject.

"Is it possible that other things can come up from other emotions? Like if someone became mentally unstable, they become a monster from their won insanity?" Minato asked, _I want to know if there's a connection between Kishin and Shadows._

"Huh? Insanity? Minato, what are you getting at?" Mitsuru asked, and then continued with, "Is something bothering you? Did you come across something in America?"

"Yeah, I sorta did. But I need to find out more about it before I tell you. I promise that when I'm ready, I'll tell you everything you want to know." Minato said, shaking his head and then sighing, "Well, I just wanted to check up, I'll talk more later, I'm going to go get ready to go out." The Messiah said, and then he waited for her reply.

"Alright, Minato. But if anything goes wrong, you let me know. We'll send as many people as we need over there to help. You take care for the rest of your vacation." Mitsuru said.

"I will." Minato replied.

"Goodbye, Minato. I love you." Mitsuru said.

"I love you too." Minato replied, and then the screen flashed back off. The Messiah made a sigh and then walked upstairs to go to his room. He entered the bathroom in there to turn the faucet on the sink, he cupped his hands under the running water to fill his hands with the liquid and splashed his face, repeating the process a few times before he turned back of the faucet. He grabbed a towel and padded his face with it, drying himself off. When He released the cloth from his face, he looked to the mirror, and once again, something startled him.

Once again, in the reflection of the mirror, the familiar face was right behind him, simply staring at him. He jolted around, but this time, she was still visible after turning around. Minato was in a state of shock and he could only utter her name, "Hamuko…"

Hamuko stared at him for a few seconds and then made a sinister smirk, something his real little sister would've never been able to pull off, then she spoke.

"What's wrong, Minato?" Her voice had none of the sweet innocence of the Hamuko he knew.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

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><p><strong>Alright, got the latest chapter up. My apologies for the delays. Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!<strong>

—**Arcananox**


	8. Chapter 8 Lost Something Along the Way

**Author's Note:**

**Holy freaking mother of God… I know I have made constant apologies about the constant delays that have taken place during the development of this story, but this is just ridiculous. Terribly sorry to those who have waited and waited and waited for an update…**

**But there is hope!**

**My family has pulled string after string after string… And now I have an internet connection at my house once more! Yes! No more waiting months for an update! Updates will be 1000x more consistent than before! THAT'S RIGHT! I'M BACK WITH AVENGEANCE BITCHES!**

**As of our hero's name, I have decided to stick with the name, Minato. I might be a little biased to the name change, since I've called him Minato for as long as I can remember, but I do like Minato better. I'll probably get used to Makoto and start calling him by that name, like I got used to the name Yu Narukami after the change from his manga name Souji Seta. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas as much as I have. **

**Alright! Now, read and review this latest chapter and fasten your seatbelts!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Lost Something Along the Way<strong>

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><p>She just stared at him, a long gaze that didn't cease and she didn't so much as blink, and a smile the Hamuko that Minato knew would never be able to do. Minato's heart was beating irregularly, clinging onto the sink that rested behind him. His mind was scrambled, not being able to process the situation and rendering himself literally speechless. His sister was supposed to be dead, but here she was, standing before him, looking as though she intends to kill him.<p>

She creped to him, the footsteps were loud explosions in Minato's ears. Those eyes that were once innocent and bright were murderous and dark, that smile that was cheerful and happy was now sinister and sadistic, like a killer walking to a helpless victim. And finally, she spoke again…

"Oh, Minato… So confused right now, aren't you? What might be going on in that little mind of yours right now?" The Hamuko look-alike ceased her footsteps, and made a slight sigh, "Oh, I think I know… 'You're not Hamuko'. Well… I hate to break it to you… But I am Hamuko."

Those words created a spark in Minato's mind, allowing him to finally speak and regain his composure, "No… You can't be Hamuko. Hamuko's dead, and I saw her die… She died—"

"In your arms." The Hamuko doppelganger interrupted, "Your precious sister… the one thing you clung onto most in this world after your parents passed away, died in your arms." She chuckled an ominous chuckle, "Yes, Mr. EX-Messiah, I know what happened."

"Ex-Messiah?" Minato was puzzled and was about to continue, but the Hamuko that stood before him lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat with just one hand, smashing him onto the mirror and breaking it, causing a wound on the back of his head, making him grunt. She lowered her head and stared right into Minato's grey eyes, smiling again.

"Yes… Come tonight, everything you have ever known, everything you have ever stood for will crumble. The 'truth' you thought you knew will cease to exist. You think you know your true place in this world? You think that just because you're invincible means your invulnerable? You're weak, Minato. You can't bear the thought of knowing deep down, you're afraid to lose anybody else. Your weakness will be exploited, used against you. You will suffer, you're friend's will suffer. And then you will die." Her voice was sadistic and devilish, almost as if her whole reason for existence was to make Minato's life perish.

Minato grunted, scowling and looking at her as he processed what she said, "How is this possible? Hamuko… what's happened to you?" Minato pulled her arm away from his throat and struggled to keep her from choking him even further.

"If you want to regain back everything you will lose, you will endure this hell you will be put through. But we've only just begun, Minato. This game of shadows will go on for as long as I want it to. Let's see how long you can maintain your sanity." Hamuko released herself from Minato's grasp and stepped backward, her smirk still strong.

Minato gasped and panted as he narrowed his eyes at her, "My sanity? What are you talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough. I'll be watching to see if you can survive. You're next test shall be tonight." Hamuko laughed and backed away, seeping into the wall behind her, disappearing from Minato's site. Minato was more confused than ever at this point. Was that really Hamuko? Why did she turn into such a sadist? She didn't have the yellow eyes that Yu Narukami explained that someone's shadow would have. And what she said… She claimed to know Minato's weakness. Was this a result of trying to fuse SP with Soul Wavelengths? Did it cause a distortion of the mind? Or did it have something else to do with it? Then he remembered…

"Stein…" Minato uttered. He remembered Professor Stein acting strangely to Minato explaining his nightmare, and Minato's sudden anxiety and mood-swings. Specifically the question regarding if Minato had any hallucinations, making him draw a conclusion that it may have been a hallucination. Then he retraced to the nightmare he had the night before… Add Stein drawing blood from Minato's arm for any "foreign substances" and it all made since to the Messiah. He walked out of the bathroom with the intent of going back to the lab, but his phone went off, and Minato checked it to see who it was. He answered it and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi hi hi, Minato-saaaan!" Minato knew that giddy, cooing voice from anywhere.

"Hey, Rise. How can I help you?" Minato asked, shaking his head at Rise acting as hyper as she ever was.

"Today is October 13th! I just wanted to remind you that I'm having a concert in Las Vegas!" Rise seemed quite excited to be performing overseas.

"Oh, yeah, congratulations on being an idol in America." Minato complimented genuinely, making the idol giggle.

"You're coming to the concert like you promised righhht?" Rise made an innocent sounding tone.

"I already bought the ticket, so I can't exactly say no." Minato answered.

"Yayyy! I'm on my way there right now! Don't be late!"

"I won't." Minato said, pressing 'end' and slipping the devise in his pocket. He lifted his left arm and glanced at his watch, "Crap! The concert's in an hour!" Minato widened his eyes, rushing to the coat rack grabbing his black jacket and slipping it on as quickly as possible. He rushed out the door only to have Kid and the Thompson Sisters walking toward his direction.

"Professor, what's wro—" Liz was about to say only to have the blue-haired man interrupt, zipping past her and the other two.

"Sorry, guys, I gotta jet, be back before 10:00, I promise!" Minato jumped on his motorcycle sitting next to he outside of the gate, ignited the engine, and zoomed down the city streets without the Weapons or the Reaper giving so much as a goodbye.

"Okayyyy?" Liz commented, "That was just weird."

"I don't know what he was in a hurry for, but I needed to ask him something." Kid mumbled, getting a look from both sisters.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MEANWHILE<strong>_

* * *

><p>The lab was quiet and only one light was turned on, which was the room Stein was in. He shut off the world around him so that he could concentrate diligently on the blood sample he extracted from Minato. His right eye didn't blink a single time as he put it up to the lens of the microscope.<p>

"Please, God… I know I haven't been the most faithful person in the world, but just once, could this just be a false alarm?" Stein murmured, his eyebrows were slightly twitching with anticipation. He already made a test to see if it was black blood, by putting it in a vial and sticking it in his computer. It seemed normal, but he was still wary, because the computer said it showed irregular patterns in the blood cells to plasma ratio. As he already knew, black blood is not that different from regular blood, so he made one final test, knowing it was the moment of truth.

And the horror he imagined was realized…

* * *

><p><em><strong>MEANWHILE—LAS VEGAS<strong>_

* * *

><p>The sun had almost completely set, the neon lights of one of the wildest cities on earth shining brightly, the concert about to begin in almost ten minutes. Minato smirked, laying on his seat. The famous Risette gave him a VIP seat, allowing him to enjoy the concert in style. Minato always raised an eyebrow at her friendliness, always making a thought in his head that she maybe was almost <em>too <em>friendly, like some other motive was at play. Minato would remind her that he was married and she'd put on an innocent tone. She would make the comment that Minato was 'almost as cool as Senpai' referring to Narukami, and all hell would break loose when Junpei and Yosuke would get into the conversation about their friends.

The concert was as loud as a rumbling thunder, chanting the name over and over…

"**Risette! Risette! Risette! Risette!"**

Once again, Minato was happy for his friend, rising to fame and performing concerts outside of Japan, and the young idol invited the Messiah to see one of her concerts in Las Vegas, scenes-how he was in the area anyway on his vacation. However, in dealing with encountering an entirely new organization he never even heard of before, plus now being a _teacher _at this organization, this was starting to turn into another job, rather than a vacation.

Minato didn't mind as badly as others in his line of work as a Shadow Operative might have. It was crazy what he learned and experienced these past two weeks in Death City, but it was a fresh, new, exiting thing for him. He was gaining back the passion he had as a Persona-user ten years ago… It wasn't that he didn't appreciate serving as a Shadow Operative, but nothing's been the same since Minato passed away after saving the world. Being brought back to life by Elizabeth, he only realized how distraught he felt, knowing that while he was granted back the gift of life, the same could never be said for his dear sister, who stood by him after their parents died in that car crash that was the same moment that Death was sealed inside the Messiah's body.

She meant the world to him. He protected her like it was his own life. And in gaining the power of Persona, he only wanted to protect her even further. He was weary about letting her fight alongside him in Tartarus, but S.E.E.S. needed all the help they could get at that moment in time, and she wouldn't bust an inch when Minato tried to talk her out of it. She had a kind heart, and a brave soul. Minato never was the same after her death. He wished he was the one who died and she was the one who could go on living. For these past seven years after his resurrection, Minato had to live with knowing that she's never coming back.

He was brought back from his musing to the real world after the entire stadium turned back, only with a dim pink neon glow in the far back of the stage. The anticipation drove the crowd wild, their screams would have been deafening if he wasn't in the area he was sitting.

"**Ladies and gentleman."**

The speakers plugged up all over the stadium had a deep, low voice, and the crowd silenced a small bit.

"**Make some noise for… RISETTE!"**

Bright lights shined from the back of the stage, illuminating all of the area, and right there in the middle of the stage was a black silhouette, legs spread, her hands placed firmly on her hips. And the crowd went insane, the glow-sticks nearly every member of the audience had were shaking back and forth so swiftly that they looked like glowing fans. Then finally the spotlights shined on her, that cheery, friendly, red-haired young woman who, to every member of the Shadow Operatives and the Investigation Team, was not just an idol, but a Persona-user and a dear friend.

"Let's do this!" The idol shouted, and the music played.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MEANWHILE<strong>_

* * *

><p>The night was getting darker and darker; the silence in the isolated room of the dreaded witch's fortress was an eerie silence. The nihilistic Takaya and the intelligent, but also quite nihilistic himself, Jin were paying attention to the crystal ball that Medusa conjured up, looking down at the Messiah's current whereabouts.<p>

"I'm growing tired of waiting. Arisato's mind is still stable. We need him dead. He's the only thing standing in our way." Takaya commented, fidgeting with his revolver, growing inpatient.

"Silence." The witch sneered, "The Messiah can't simply be killed after the madness takes over him. He needs to bend so much that he breaks." Medusa's eyes turned wicked, the black static emitted from her mouth as she smirked, "And when he breaks, we'll make sure he doesn't live for long."

* * *

><p><em><strong>IN THE DEATH CITY LAB-<strong>_

* * *

><p>Stein's fists clenched at the sight he saw in those lenses. He knew full well what he was seeing in that blood sample.<p>

Under the red blood cells he spotted, were black spots the moved about the red circles, pushing them aside like a bully at a playground pushing the weaker little kids around. His intuition was correct, much to his dissatisfaction… The Messiah has black blood flowing through his veins.

The scientist jolted his right fist to his side, punching a cabinet with a glass frame, making it shatter and a couple of shards pierced the skin on his knuckles, all the while yelling, "Son of a _BITCH!_" He knew what this was going to bring… and once again, the balance will be in danger.

* * *

><p><em><strong>LAS VEGAS<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Vegas! Take care of yourselves and each other!" The idol said her fond farewell as the concert came to an end, waving goodbye and blowing a kiss. She gracefully walked away from the crowd and was gone from sight.<p>

The Messiah made his way through the exiting crowd, going through two guards that Minato showed the backstage pass to in order for them to allow him to proceed. Minato finally made it to the backstage and immediately saw Rise, who turned to spot him and had a big smile on her face. She shouted his hand as she charged at him, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around his neck, "Minato-san! Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

Minato grunted at the sudden action and then smiled as he patted her back, "It's good to see you too, Rise."

The idol made a giggle, and looked at him, "How was I?"

"You were great. You're coming along in showbiz quite well." Minato answered, nodding.

"How is your vacation? Are you enjoying America as much as I am?" She asked, letting go of him and putting her hands behind her back.

"It's been… interesting. Let's just say I've met some unique people." Minato answered a half truth. Rise tilted her head.

"Ohh… Unique people? Do tell, do tell."

"Umm… Well… I kinda wanted to tell everyone when I got back home." The Messiah came up with the quickest—but lamest—excuse he could come up with.

"Alright, mystery man, what're you hiding?" Rise then had a puzzled look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Minato asked.

"Kouzeon, what's wrong?" Rise lowered her head, talking to her own Persona, but she changed her language back to Japanese to lower any suspicion, she started to look left and right, making sure no one passing by the two was getting observant she then looked back at the blue-haired man, and continued to speak in her native language, "I'm sensing something different about you… It's like my reading of you is getting fuzzy. I normally have no problem reading you because of your huge power, but… it's like something's getting blocked." Rise started to get concerned, "Minato, has anything strange happened during your trip?"

The Messiah had a lump on his throat. Her power surely was incredible if I could notice him even in the real world. She was starting to get as strong as Fuuka, it would appear. He didn't want to make her—or any of the others back home—worry. He just thought he would talk with Professor Stein once he got back to the city. He shook his head, "I'm fine, Rise. You could just be tired."

Rise looked as though she didn't take too kindly to that answer, having a wry look and staring at her feet. She nodded slowly and looked back up, "Well, I have a curfew to get to and I have another concert in a few days in Orlando, so I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation, Minato-san." The idol put back on a smile and waved as the blue-haired Persona-user made his way out of the backstage, bidding her farewell also.

That's when he felt something overwhelm him. It was another headache he got that same morning at Kid's house, only this time it made him exclaim a shout while tumbling to a wall that he latched onto to keep himself from falling. It felt worse this time, like someone just hit him with a brick.

"_**Master, what's the matter? Are you alright?" **_A voice called to him in his head.

"Yeah… I'm alright, Orpheus. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to find out." The Messiah made a glare, clenched his right fist and made a fast walk back to his motorcycle. He knew what he had to do. He had to confront the so-called scientist.

His drive back to the city was an ordeal; the headache latched onto him like a parasite and would not cease to give him minor spasms every now and again. He knew this wasn't normal. He knew that Stein was well aware of his problem. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized Kid seemed to have a hunch as well, making similar questions to the Persona-user.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in Death City, back in the lab, Stein was rubbing the back of his head in anxiety and dismay. Minato had black blood in him, but what did that mean exactly? Stein was certain that Medusa was dead. He saw her die right in front of him, and she even admitted to being defeated. So who else knows about the black blood, and why did they choose Minato of all people?<p>

Stein heard a loud pounding of the door, followed by a voice…

"Professor! I need to talk to you! I think Minato is in danger!" The voice was Kid.

The scientist got of from his swivel chair and made his way to the door, quickly opening it. He saw that Kid was accompanied by three other people, Maka, Soul, and Black*Star.

"What are you kids doing here?" Stein asked.

"Professor, I know Minato came here after he left the house this morning! He was acting strange, like he was concerned about something." Kid declared. Stein has never seen him so wound up before.

"Stein, is it true? Is something wrong with Professor Arisato?" Maka asked, she seemed to be panting like the rest of them, as if they ran to his lab.

"Kids, I'm afraid our worst fears have come to light…" Stein said, taking out a cigarette, lighting it, and walking back into the interior of the house.

"What do you mean?" Kid asked, walking in the lab as well, followed by the other three.

Stein sat back down in his chair, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. He lowered back down his head and took an inhale of the cigarette. He then looked back to the students to deliver the bad news, "Someone has injected Minato with black blood."

"What?" Maka gasped, jolting up her shoulders, "How? I mean, Medusa's gone!"

"I don't know for sure. Maybe Medusa has nothing to do with this. She may be dead, but someone might have continued her research. Not only that, but…" Stein lowered back down his head.

"But what?" Black*Star asked, his fist clenched.

"It's even worse than before. Someone enhanced the black blood. It took over the red blood cells at an alarming rate, much faster than last time. I'm afraid Minato might not have much time left at all…" Stein delivered yet another plethora of bad news.

"Dammit… We're back to square one. This is just like last time!" Soul said through his gritted teeth.

"Minato left the city a couple hours ago… Let's just hope to God he makes it back safe…" Kid said. He knew what dire effects the black blood will have against his body. If there was any way… any way at all that they could at least delay the full impact, then they had to do everything they could.

Around ten minutes later of silent driving of his motorcycle, he finally made it to the giant city of skulls. He stumbled off his motorcycle and staggered through the streets, which were completely empty. He clutched his head, grunting again and again, and he finally could not take it anymore. He fell to his knees, grabbing his head which both hands, screaming in unspeakable agony.

That's when it hit him… The full force of his turmoil, and a blue torrent of power surrounded him.

The five back at the lab heard an awful noise and Kid realized something…

"That scream… That's Minato!" Kid exclaimed as he made his way out of the lab, and when he looked to the direction of the main portion of the city, he saw a blue beam of light shoot straight to the sky. Kid did not delay. He rushed to the light on Beelzebub, with the other four following suit.

That's when Minato's screaming stopped, and the blue torrent of power ceased to light. Minato's pain subsided somewhat, but the excruciating pain took a toll on the Persona-user, and his vision was weakening. He panted and panted, trying to fight his exhaustion, but his body finally surrendered. He fell to the ground and landed with a thud. Minato kept his eyes open for just a few seconds longer, only to see a silhouette near him, having his hands on his back shaking him while shouting…

"Master! Master!" The voice seemed to grow farther and farther away. Minato finally gave in to his exhaustion, and his consciousness disappeared into darkness.

Kid finally made it to the body and his skateboard disappeared. He ran to Minato and Thanatos. "Minato!" Kid yelled, and when the others caught up, they made the same exclaims of worry.

"He's unconscious… What's happened to him!?" Thanatos exclaimed, looking at the students.

"I'll explain later. We need to get him to the health wing." Stein said, and Thanatos put the Messiah over his shoulder, and carried him to the Academy.

* * *

><p>Later, it seemed as though Minato has having another dream. He was still in this same plain area with fog. But this time, the area was more dark gray than black. <em>What hell does this mean? What's happened to me? <em>The Messiah thought… He then heard a calling voice.

"_Big brother! Big brother!" _

"That voice… Hamuko?" Minato took a few heavy breaths. Was she going to try to kill him again. He sharply turned around to find out his intuition was right. His little sister was standing before him again. But unfortunately, she still looked as if she had murderous intents.

"Hamuko, is it really you?" Minato asked, approaching her in haste.

The Hamuko made a chuckle, "Of course it is…" She approached him, only to be seen holding the same knife she did before. She started to sprint towards him, and Minato looked in shock. He never saw her move that fast.

Hamuko lunged forward, thrusting her arm forward with the knife, but Minato this time turned his head to the side to avoid its dangerous blade. Again she made another move, Minato acting quick on his feet to make sure she didn't get him.

"Tch! Persona!" Minato called, expecting something to come and protect him, but nothing appeared. "What!?"

Hamuko smirked and chuckled, "Oh poor Minato. Nobody's here to protect you anymore." And finally she made the knife come in contact with Minato's body.

Minato woke up, jolting from his resting point and making loud gasps to the point of also making violent coughs. He was then patted on the shoulder by a hand, and he looked to see Thanatos.

"Master, are you alright? Was it another dream?" The death god asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Minato answered, shaking his head. His entire body felt weak, and he didn't feel as functional as he once did, "What happened."

"You lost all your Personas…" Thanatos came straight out and answered.

"What!?" The bluenette exclaimed, trying to get out of the hospital bed he was in, apparently in the Academy's Health Room, but he stumbled and Thanatos caught him, lowering him back down.

"Please take a rest, Master." Thanatos said, and then he continued to explain, "I never saw anything like it… After you collapsed, I saw a tarot card appear straight out of your body… It was the tarot of the Universe Arcana… It simply escaped from you and ascended to the sky. The Judgement Arcana soon followed. Followed by the Sun, the Star, Moon, Tower, Devil… Soon, all of them were gone..."

"All of them? Including…" Minato hesitated.

"Yes, Master… I am no longer your Persona…" Thanatos answered with deep regret, "But there is one left."

"One left…?" Minato asked. He hesitated for a mid second, and then raised his hand, allowing a card to appear. That card had the tarot of the Fool.

"Orpheus?" Minato said, and heard a voice in his head.

"_**Yes, Master. I am the only one left. The one who awakened inside you from the very beginning." **_The Master of Strings addressed him.

"How is this possible…?" Minato asked, blinking slowly.

"I can explain that."

Minato and Thanatos looked over to see Stein through the doorway, walking through the door and sitting down in a spare chair next to the wall.

"You have a toxin in your system known as Black Blood… We dealt with this before, and know what it can do. It makes the victim lose their sanity, and turns them into god-awful beings. It's the 'foreign substance' I was worried that I would find. I'm sorry Minato, but there was no way to prevent it." Stein said with regret. Minato was staring at him, and the Messiah got out from the bed and made his way out the Health Room.

"Minato? Minato!" The doctor tried to call him back, but it had no avail. The Persona-user was gone from sight.

Minato walked through the streets of the city, brooding over his circumstance. Here he was, going from ultimate power, to going back to the person he once was from the beginning of his life as a Persona-user. He didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to take this? He was so distraught he walked out of that room without saying anything, and for what? So that he could sulk? He knew he was better than this, but he still couldn't help it.

That's when Minato heard an odd ringing sound, and he could tell it came from his right. Looking over in said direction, he saw the familiar door glowing that eerie blue. From experience, he knew that it wasn't there for nothing. The approached the door and reached for his pocket, grabbing the Velvet Key, unlocking the knob, and entering to the Velvet Room.

* * *

><p>It was as blue and calm as ever. But the interior changed. Instead of the elevator scenery he was so accustomed to, it seemed he was in the main room of a boat, and it even had a window for the Persona-user to see out of to look at the waters below that were illuminated by what was a bright moon. Minato made a small sigh, and he looked to see the familiar old man.<p>

"Welcome… to the Velvet Room." The enigmatic-talking man, Igor, made his greeting, "And so we meet again. However, I regret that it is in dire circumstances such as this. It seems that evil has preyed upon you, and has taken away your power. You no longer have the power of the Universe. And so, you will require our help once more." Igor said, and was surprisingly straightforward with the problem.

"Yes Igor… I'll take all the help you can offer me…" Minato said, nodding and somberly looking to the blue ground, and then he looked back at Igor, "Why is the Velvet Room a boat?"

Igor made a chuckle, "Your last journey symbolized an elevator for your ascension to the top of the Tower of Demise. It represented a straight objective and a straight destination. But now… you have left the pier of your destiny, and have become the captain of your life. And so you must let your instincts tell you where to go from there, not knowing what open shores you may land. And no matter the consequence, let the waters of life carry to that destination."

Igor then raised his hand in front of the table and a pack of tarot cards appeared. He made a swipe through the air and the tarots magically spread out, he then placed a hand on one of the turned-over tarots to flip it and reveal its contents, "Hmm… I see that you still obtain the Fool Arcana… It seems that new beginnings await you. You must condone a brand new journey."

"Great…" Minato said in dismay, not wanting to hear that. _I should have known I wasn't finished. _

Igor flipped another card, "Hmm… The Fortune Arcana. Your journey will make drastic changes in both your life and the lives of those around you." Igor then went on to the third card, but when he did, the card was nothing but a blank slate, "Hmm… There is a missing piece of your life that you yourself seem to have neglected. You have lost something along the way."

"Lost something along the way? What do you mean?" Minato asked, paying attention to the blank card as well.

"You have forgotten something important. Something that made you the man you are. Perhaps that is the key… Perhaps… you may get your powers back." Igor stated, making another swipe of his hands, making the cards disappear.

"Huh? Really?" Minato seemed somewhat excited to hear about that.

"Of course, Minato, we can't help you yet because your contract was fulfilled ten years ago. So… if you truly are willing to have us help you, and if you are ready to take on the hardships that you will brave…" Igor raised his hand again to reveal a red pamphlet that then opened by itself…

_**I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.**_

"Minato Arisato… Will you once again sign the contract, and promise to accept full responsibility for what actions and decisions you make throughout this voyage?"

Minato couldn't help but hesitate. He stared at the familiar text in the paper, and knew what he was going to get himself into if he signed it. He knew there would be more losses… more fighting… more pain. But something sparked his ire. He then and there realized that he has to find out who is responsible for this. Somebody wanted him dead because they knew he was the only one who could stop them. And if that means he has to endure the pain he did ten years ago once more to find this person… then so be it.

Minato grabbed the pen sitting beside the pamphlet, and swiftly made his signature, and closed the paper. He handed it the Igor and made a nod. Igor eagerly chuckled, "Hmhmhm… Splendid, Minato, splendid. Now… it begins." Igor raised both his hands and a bright light engulfed Minato, sending him back to the real world.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MEANWHILE<strong>_

* * *

><p>Takaya was infuriated. The paid attention to what happened to Minato that night, and he seemed unpleased. That morning he was pacing back and forth with his gun in his hand, yelling at the witch.<p>

"What happened there!? Minato was supposed to be infected by the black blood! He was supposed to become an insane monster! All it did was weaken him… that was not supposed to happen!"

"It must have been his Personas!" Medusa argued back, "If what you aid about Personas is true, and they are powers of the heart and mind, then they must have been willing enough to sacrifice themselves… his Personas somehow sacrificed themselves so that Minato could have a fighting chance. That's why he's still sane."

"What foolishness." Takaya scowled.

"Takaya, calm down. We can still act." Jin said, looking over to the man who has nothing but distain for the witch at that moment.

Takaya took a deep breath, "Very well… Medusa, we are doing this my way now." Takaya said, leaving the chambers, followed by Jin.

Medusa watched the two Persona-users leave the chamber, scowling at both of them, the black static coming out of her mouth again, "Alright Takaya… Let's _pretend _that you are in charge."

* * *

><p><em><strong>ELSEWHERE<strong>_

* * *

><p>The Messiah looked back to see the door gone, as he expected. He balled up his fist and punched his other palm with it. After collecting himself and gritting his teeth, he has regained his determination. He made his way to Gallows Manor in the afternoon light, making a solemn vow.<p>

"I don't know who you are… what you are… or what you want with me. I don't know how you know me, or how I'm going to find you… But if you're listening to me right now, all I have to say is this… When I find you, I'll make you pay. So, I hope you're ready… because I'm coming for you."

**Alright. I hoped you enjoyed this. **

**And like I said, I finally got my internet, so I am back, baby! Expect updates at regular occasions!**

**-Arcananox**


	9. Chapter 9 Revelations of a Messiah

**Author's Note:**

**And so, we bring you to this conclusion of the first installment of the Messiah series. I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this fanfic, and hope you will continue to support it once we get into the second installment. The road of this series is a long one, but this will no doubt be my biggest project ever.**

**And so… I bring you the final chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Revelations of a Messiah<strong>

* * *

><p>Three days had passed since the horrendous incident of Minato being overwhelmed by the black blood and ended up losing all his powers. The only ones remaining were Orpheus, and—even though he wasn't a Persona anymore—Thanatos. It still left him dumbfounded after giving it a few days it sink it in. Something still bothered him, and it was most likely the fact that someone wanted him dead, and he had no clue who it was. Here he was, in a city he had barely any knowledge of, despite 2 weeks living in it so far, but someone already knew about him, and tried to kill him.<p>

Even after losing his powers, he still felt that coursing sense of anxious discomfort, meaning that the 'Black Blood' that Stein referred to it as was still within him, obviously the job not being done yet.

He felt discouraged by his lack of mental stability at a time like this. This was a time where he was supposed to keep his cool the most, and yet his blood felt cold as he contemplated the matter. Sometimes he wishes he was back to his nonchalant, stoic self. At least when he was like that, he was the calmest out of all of the S.E.E.S. members. But he signed the contract. There's no going back now.

Obviously, Minato's teaching was delayed on account of Stein diagnosing him with post-traumatic stress. All Minato could do was wait until the situation changed. He spent most of those three days in Gallows Manor. He would take a walk every now and then, the first day he went out for drinks with Spirit again, and he even drove out of the city on his bike to give him some private thinking time.

But the third day was when he stood out on one of the balconies of the Academy, looking out into the vast landscape of the entire city, and then to the distance that was nothing but desert. The wind was mild, a very dry air that Minato grew accustomed to, blowing past him, nothing but that could be heard in the silence that Minato was surrounded by. And then the silence broke when he heard a voice behind him.

"Minato?"

He turned around to see the familiar scientist looking at him straight in the eye, his lab coat made mild billows in the calm wind as he stepped forward.

Minato turned back around and put his arms on the balcony as Stein stepped beside him. Minato made a quick glance at the scientist as then back out to the city, "Have you found out anything yet?" The Persona-user asked.

"Yes… I have some good news, I have some better news, then I have some bad news, and some worse news." Stein admitted, "The bad news is the black blood had unknown mutagens that we didn't see before, and it seems like they were the dominant aspects in the toxin. The good news is I might be able to find out what that is." Stein then pulled out a carton of cigarettes. He held it out to Minato, which Minato pulled one out with two fingers.

"Thanks…" Minato said, and then Stein lit a match to light Minato's and his cigarettes both, "Now, what's the better and worse news?"

"The worse news is whoever did this to you knew what they were doing, and that specific toxin was made specifically for you. We're obviously dealing with somebody who knows about you and knows you were the only one who could defeat them," Stein took an inhale of his cigarette and blew it out, "But the betters news is, we have better experience with Black Blood than we did before. It will take a long time, but if I condone some research, I took create a suppressant." Stein looked at the Persona-user, who looked at him back.

"A suppressant? Not a cure?" Minato asked.

"No… the Black Blood is affecting your soul. I can't just create a serum that makes it all go away. But I could at least slow it down." Stein said very bluntly.

Minato looked back out to the city and clenched his fist, "Dammit… How could something like this happen? Here I was, thinking I was done with this… I'm a Shadow Operative, but we usually deal with criminal investigations. We haven't dealt with supernatural stuff in years. And now I have to go through this shit again?" Minato wondered why Fate dealt her cruel hand on him again. But he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Stein said in an almost sarcastic tone. He took another inhale of his cigarette and blew out, "Of course you're not finished. Why else would you come here."

Minato made a puzzled face to the scientist and listened to him speak more…

"You said you were brought here out of curiosity, but what if that wasn't just the case? You chose to come here because you felt like it was important. You knew you felt a presence here, and you knew it wasn't normal. Deep down, you knew your legacy wasn't over. Is your legacy over, Minato? Was defeating a goddess of death good enough for you? Or do you know in your soul… that you were meant to be who you are?" Stein acted very sincere as he nodded to the Persona-user, "Your powers are gone… But you definitely are still the Messiah. I promise you that." Stein put his hands back into his pockets and didn't say another word as he stepped back towards the doors that lead to the Academy's halls. He opened them and went inside to leave Minato thinking as he looked back towards the city.

It was true. Minato knew there was something interesting going on when he felt the presence of Death as he first arrived to the city. Maybe he was meant to teach these kids the principles of SP to coincide with Soul Wavelength. He taught them to use specific SP moves and in return, Stein taught him how to use Soul Perception, which he believed could come in handy one day. And Minato knew in his heart at that moment, that his job was far from over. That his story had just begun, and no matter what, he would always be the Messiah.

Minato made a small chuckle as he took an inhale of his own cigarette, and blew out. He nodded to himself as he whispered,

"Thank you, Stein."

But something made a small spark inside him, but Minato didn't panic, because this feeling was familiar. And his intuition was right, as he looked up to see a blue-glowing, rotating tarot card in front of him, signifying his making of a bond…

"The Hermit." Minato whispered the name of the rotating tarot. He reached for it and grabbed it with two fingers. The card disappeared into pearls of white light, as the power seeped inside of him, and he felt like his soul grew a little. Finishing the cigarette, he went back inside with his head held high. He had a class to teach.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two Days Later<strong>_

* * *

><p>In the witch's chambers, Takaya was sitting on a chair with Medusa, as they discussed the next phase of the plan. Something went wrong, and Minato didn't go insane like he was supposed to.<p>

"Since your inferior plan went to waste, we do this my way. The only thing Arisato is now is just a Meister of the Academy. Just using a weapon, which means I'll be stronger. The only thing to do is lure him to a trap and kill him. And, Medusa… you will not interfere." Takaya grew cynical towards Medusa's so-called plan not going as well as expected. And all Medusa could do was look at him in disgust.

"Your idea of a plan is killing everything in your way." Medusa retorted, "If you think we're going to kill Minato by dangling a carrot in front of his face, then you're more foolish than you look." Medusa scowled, "Be my guest, but once Minato takes you out of the picture, I won't be there to join your fate." Medusa rose herself from her seat and put his snake hood over her head. She didn't say another word as she left the chamber in distain, only leaving Takaya with his revolver, and Jin, still tossing that grenade in the air, alone in the silence with the moon over them through a nearby window.

But Takaya had not a care as he smirked, "I think I have a little job for Giriko."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Back at the Academy<strong>_

* * *

><p>That same night was when Minato relaxed with the entire gang at Gallows Manor. It mattered not when he was going to get to business, scenes-how he had no means of doing so. He still continued to wait until the situation changed. But for now, he let everything run its course.<p>

"So, Professor, do you have any SP moves that could completely wipe out any loser that tried to mess with me!?" Black*Star asked, eager to learn the advanced moves.

"There was that one that he used… Morning Star. It was the one that he used on the both of you." Kid answered, remembering the decimating move that Minato called it.

"Could we not talk about that?" The assassin narrowed his eyes to the reaper.

"Listen guys, I would show you some of the bigger stuff, but first and foremost, I already said that these moves could put a strain on you if you rush it. Plus, I don't really have a good way of showing you at the moment… I don't have my powers, and I need to learn some of the moves regarding Soul Wavelength. I'm still learning the basics of that still." Mianto admitted and explained.

"Yeah… How do we suppose finding the person that did that to you?" Kid asked, as he remembered Black Blood still coursing through Minato's body.

"Whoever this person is obviously knows who I am. And apparently you guys have dealt with this already. The best we can do is find a lead." Minato answered.

And as if God himself was listening, a crash was heard through one of the manor's windows, and something flew through the glass at an alarming speed. Minato rushed to the other side of the mansion to find out what it was and saw a part of the mansion was completely decimated, and the thing replacing it was a large, human-like, boulder standing through the hole.

"A golem!? Is it that Giriko bastard again?" Said Soul, gritting his teeth.

"Soul!" Maka ordered, and Soul did not hesitate transforming into the scythe, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty following their lead, transforming for their specific Meisters.

Minato held out his hand for his own weapon, "Thanatos!" Minato ordered, and the Death God was about to comply, but the golem grabbed the Persona-user by the throat and pick him up. Minato kicked helplessly in the air as he struggled for breath, trying to get the golem to let him go, but it had no avail.

The golem strangely didn't make any particular attacks and instead walked off away from the mansion, Minato still within its grasp.

"No! Minato!" Kid yelled, continuing to fire at the golem at inhuman speeds, but they simply just bounced off it.

Maka and Black*Star both charged at the golem and readied their attack, but the creature made one clean swoop with its unoccupied hand, pushing him back with alarming power. Maka crashed right into Kid, and Black*Star right into Thanatos, all of them hitting the mansion wall with full force.

The golem picked up speed to the point of running to the outskirts of the city, the Messiah still being constricted by the creature. He then started to lose consciousness as the lack of breathing started to take its toll on him.

Back at the mansion, the Meisters tried to get back on their feet, and Kid and Maka were the first to do so.

"Dammit… What did the golem want with Minato?" Kid asked, glaring at himself for allowing him to be take so easily.

"I… I don't know. That was so sudden and…" Maka was bewildered. Minato's been kidnapped, and Black*Star was out cold. Make wondered herself why the golem suddenly kidnapped Minato.

Kid looked down to be Black*Star with dizzy eyes. He kicked the Assassin in the head and ordered him to wake up. The Assassin jolted up, making outbursts once more.

"Dammit! Where's that golem! I'll turn him into dust! Come on, I'm ready for—"

"Maka-CHOP!" Maka cut him off with her big black book, and went back to the important matter.

"We need to find him! I'll use my soul perception. C'mon, guys!" Maka grabbed Soul and went through the hole in the mansion, followed by the Assassin, the Reaper, and finally Thanatos.

"If they lay a finger on my master, I swear on my life I will tear them apart." Thanatos whispered to himself as everyone ran out of the city, following Maka's lead to wherever they were going.

The golem made large steps, and after what seemed like maybe an hour, stopped. Minato tried to breathe more and more, struggling to keep himself from being choked to death. It was almost as if the golem was constricting him enough to retrain him, but not enough to allow him to submit to lack of proper breathing.

That was when he opened his eyes to see he seemed to be in the middle of a large corridor, the windows to his right had the bright moon glare through the glass and onto the rugged floor beneath him.

The students finally made it to the area that Maka sensed where Minato and the golem went to, and they stopped their sprinting to allow themselves to see the view of a tall, deformed building, almost like the building wasn't finished and was left the way it was.

"I sense Minato is on the middle-left side." Maka said, wanting to get to their Professor as fast as possible.

"We need to get there." Kid said, and then summoned Beelebub. As he stepped on, he looked at Maka and gestured for her to get on.

Maka made a puzzled, almost comedic look to the Reaper, not knowing what Kid was tring to do, but she trusted her friend, so she got on the skateboard alongside him.

"Thanatos, you and Black*Star find a way to get up there as fast as possible. Chrona, can Ragnarok still fly?" Kid asked the Demon-sword Meister.

"Yes, he can… Ready, Ragnarok?" Chrona asked the weapon.

"Goo-pi-pi, let's kick some rock ass!" Ragnarok blurted out, turning from the weapon to the black-dragon form as the ebony wings sprouted from the meister's back.

Thanatos' eyes grew dark as the shadows behind him lifted and entombed his feet, working its way up to fully envelope him in the blackness. Then the dark shadows subsided and revealed him in his true form, with his metal helmet, his sword resting in its holster, and the coffins chained behind him.

"Grab on." The Death God's voice was even colder than before, almost to the point of being disturbing. He was talking to the Assassin for him to grab onto the coffins. Black*Star hesitated for a small second, being weirded out by Thanatos' growing hostility. He then complied and placed the other piece of his kusurigama in his left hand to latch onto on of his coffins with his right.

"Is everyone ready?" Kid asked, earning a nod from every other person, excluding weapons. He didn't wait another second to launch himself of with his skateboard, holding Maka with one arm, and her doing the same to him, for support. Thanatos lifted himself of the ground at alarming speeds, earning a small yell from Black*Star. Chrona's wings raised up, and she lifted herself from the ground with a quick swoop, flying in the same direction as the others. The fires of determination blazed within them all. They had to save their teacher and friend, Minato.

And as quick as they could, all of them crashed through the windows of the tower, Maka immediately jumped off Kid's skateboard and readied her weapon. Black*Star let go of Thanatos' coffin and readied Tsubaki with an eagerness to fight. Thanatos drew out his sword with a swift movement. Chrona's wings subsided and turned back into the sword form, readying herself, despite being as nervous as she was. Kid got rid of Beelzebub and readied his pistols with full determination.

Around that moment, the golem let go of their teacher, and the Persona-user crashed to the floor with full force, making him grunt in pain as he clenched his throat, coughing and trying to breathe again.

The other meisters still had their weapons in handy, but Maka rushed towards their teacher in worry, "Professor Arisato!" She knelt down towards him, as he continued to silently gasp, and she tried to shake him to see if he was alright, "Professor, please… C'mon, say something!"

Minato flickered his eyes open and looked to his left. His vision was distorted, and he almost didn't recognize who it was. But his mind played tricks on him, and he almost didn't even know what he was saying.

"Hamuko?"

"What?" Maka questioned, worried about Minato's disorientation, "Who's Hamuko? Professor, it's us." Maka continued to sway him back on forth until he managed to prop himself up and shake his head, looking at the other students, "Oh, thank God you're alright." Maka breathed a sigh.

"I should be saying that about you… Are any of you hurt?" The Professor asked, propping himself further to stand up and look at everyone.

"It's not a worry what that bastard did. But I don't think he's the real problem here." Kid said, pointing his guns behind Minato, meaning he obviously wasn't talking about the golem in front of him, who stopped moving and seemed to not care about the students.

Minato questioned for a second, and then turned around to see two people standing there in front of a large, stain-glass window, the light of two torches on either side of them giving off their identity.

The one on the left stepped forward to further reveal himself, and gave a sinister smirk to the Messiah, his revolver in hand, and his eyes as dead as they ever were.

"It has been a while… Minato." His slithering voice was all it took to push Minato over the edge.

The Persona-user was dumbstruck. His grey eyes were wide open as he could feel that he broke out into a cold sweat. His fingertips shook in disgusts and his teeth were clenched.

"T… T-Takaya Sakaki?" Minato remembered that face, and remembered that name all too well. And worst of all… He remembered that one action. The one that took everything away from him, and left him as a tortured soul. That day the world was saved… was the same day Minato's world was shattered.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ten Years Ago—February 1<strong>__**st**_

* * *

><p>Midnight had just struck. Not midnight of the Dark Hour, but the midnight of the true world. Yes, the midnight that was once the Dark Hour was no more, and Tartarus as well vanished before the entire team's very eyes. But not everything was all well…<p>

While Minato went to the moon itself to face Nyx and forever seal her away, Hamuko was left behind. She cried out for her big brother to stay, begging for him not to leave her alone. And after the Great Seal was created, and Tartarus and the Dark Hour vanished, they still couldn't find a trace of the blue-haired Persona-user. The team grew anxious, worried that their leader was taken away from them.

However, much to their relief, there he was, standing in the walkway to the entrance of Gekkoukahn High School. The team rushed to their leader. Welcoming him back with much enthusiasm, especially from his little twin sister. The siblings embraced each other, Hamuko crying on him as Minato simply smiled, placing a hand on top of her head as she continued to make gentle sobs.

Unfortunately… the reunion was short lived.

Standing behind the entire group, a man stumbled out the school as well. He was clutching his chest, staggering as he limped onto a nearby support beam. The man slumped to the floor and panted as the pills he's been taking all these years was finally going to take his life. But he would not have died without destroying the man who stopped his wish.

Takaya lifted his revolver and aimed right at the blue-haired Persona-user, glaring at the man with a sinister voice, "You… you stopped the world from being cleansed. I will not let you see the world you tried to 'save'."

Minato surely would have been killed, brought back to his friends only to be taken away from them again, if not for his personal savior…

"Minato, look out!"

Those words were still echoes in his head even after ten years… The person the voice belonged to pushed Minato with a full force, only to have taken his place. Minato stumbled for a second and look to see the person give a slight shriek as she fell on her knees and then on her back, clutching her stomach in pain. Minato's chest constricted, his mouth hung wide open, the horror of the sight was too great for him as he yelled in devastation.

"_**HAMUKO!"  
><strong>_

Takaya gave a small, nasty chuckle as he lowered his gun and fell completely to the floor himself, "Damn…" Giving his last breath with his malicious smile still plastered on his face.

Minato rushed to pick her body up. To his dismay, she was already losing the color in her face that was always pink or red whenever she'd blush, and she was already losing her breath, "Hamuko! Hamuko, please, stay with me!" Minato begged.

His sweet sister flickered her eyes open as she gazed upon a distraught Minato, "Are… you alright… Minato?"

Minato's hands were shaking, his breath giving short distortions, "Hamuko, you're going to be alright! Please, just fight! Mitsuru, get an ambulance!"

"I just did…" Mitsuru answered. Even she of all people was losing her control. She already witnessed two deaths. She didn't want to witness a third. She made a quick glance at the school entrance, but was confused at the sight of only a spittle of blood on the ground.

"What the… Where'd Takaya go?" said Akihiko, willing to do anything to make him pay once more.

"Hamuko, please! You have to hang in there!" Yukari kneeled down with Minato, trying her best to maintain her composure as well.

"Please, Hamuko, don't leave me!" Minato continued to talk to Hamuko, anything to get her to keep fighting, but Hamuko was continuing to lose her breath.

"Minato… You took… such good care of me… after mom and dad died. It's my turn, big brother." Hamuko lifted a hand that was slightly stained with her own life essence, and Minato grabbed it and clenched tightly. It was at this moment that the calm and collected leader was beginning to break. A visible gleam of water could be seen in the Messiah's eyes, despite his desperate attempts to fight them.

"Hamuko…" Minato stuttered, "Please, you have… you have to fight. I can't… I can't…" He felt her grasp on his hand go weaker and weaker. He couldn't believe this was happening. He tried to deny it. But no matter his please that she was going to survive, her grasp still said otherwise.

She couldn't get another word out. Her eyes finally closed themselves and her grasp was as weak as it could be. She made a small exhale of breath, and Minato looked in horror at her still body. He continued to crack more and more as his voice was breaking through his lungs, "Hamuko… H-Ha…" He held her tightly to him, her lifeless body in his arms as he struggled not to give into his lungs pleads. He fought and fought and fought, but it was no use in the end as he finally made one loud scream. A scream filled with sorrow, grief, despair, and pain.

No one dared speak a word. The men bowed their heads, while the women couldn't help but let their tears show. Even Mitsuru wiped both her eyes and lowered her head. Each one of them said a small personal prayer, asking for Hamuko to have a peaceful rest. Their third friend was taken from them, and their enemy took her with his dying breath, only to be found no where.

Minato spent that month in the most grieve-stricken state anyone could have been, and it was only worse because of Minato performing the great seal, he spent a month without his soul attached to his body, feeling like a hollow vessel. Combining this with his mourning, and his health wasn't in the best state.

That day, on March 5th, when Minato was on the school roof, fulfilling his promise, he couldn't help but wonder if Hamuko was watching over him then and there. The sunlight gleaming over him, the gentle wind, the cherry blossoms being carried through the air… It was almost as if Hamuko herself made this weather. Drawing his final breath, he thought that one day, he could see her again. But it was not possible. His soul would not have the privilege of an afterlife, but a burden of torture by the creature known as Erebus.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Present<strong>_

* * *

><p>And now here they were. The both of them. The Messiah, and the False-Prophet, standing before each other, neither of them dead. It was almost like God was playing a horrible joke. Minato couldn't help but feel his rage fill him. His look of surprise transformed into a look of hate. Minato coldly called out,<p>

"Thanatos… transform."

Thanatos knew the weight of his master's disgust. After all, he was in his mind as his Persona at the time of Hamuko's sacrifice. The Death God complied and transformed into the scythe and Minato grabbed it with a tight grip. He might have lost most of his power, but he was still a Meister of the Academy.

"You're responsible for this, aren't you?" Minato continued to give a deadly stare at the False Prophet. The loss of his Personas, combined with this meeting, it was obvious to the Messiah that Takaya aimed to kill him by getting rid of his powers.

Takaya chuckled, "Ahh, more or less." The man gave a smirk to Minato's visible anger.

"Professor, who is this guy…?" Maka asked, readying Soul for any given moment that he might attack.

"Let's just say we have a bad history together." Minato said, glancing over to the scythe meister, saying his statement in a cold tone.

"Bad history? I just wanted to bring a new order to the world. Don't let the loss of your sister blacken your judgment…" Takaya mocked, still with his slithering smirk.

"_**Witch Hunter!" **_Minato swooped the scythe to the ground, causing a wave of purple energy to emerge and follow through the floor, making its way to the False Prophet. Takaya made a swift motion of his feet, dodging the attack and having the energy cut through the stain glass, leaving an opening. Minato has breathing heavily, not being able to contain himself.

"I didn't _lose _my sister, you _**took her from me!" **_Minato shouted in absolute rage.

"Minato, you had a sister?" Maka asked, her mouth slightly open as she finally realized Minato's hatred towards this man.

"Professor, calm down. I know it's hard to maintain yourself in front of your sister's killer, but you have to." Kid advised, his guns pointed towards Takaya.

The Messiah was reluctant… very reluctant to hold himself back, but Kid was right. There's a better way to go through this than with guns blazing. He needed answers. Now was the perfect time to get them.

"How did you survive?" Minato asked, calming down, but still not losing the tension in his voice.

"I surely would have been dead if it weren't for someone choosing to allow me to live." Takaya answered, "I may have been asleep for eight years, but right after our little goodbye that February, someone took me out of that ground and patched me up by giving to me what I gave to you." Takaya smirked, "Yes, Minato, the Black Blood flows in my veins now, and I feel even more power than I did before. The most glorious thing about it is that my Persona is finally stabilized. While you reject insanity and malice, I embraced it. The Black Blood will consume you unless you submit." The False Prophet pointed his revolver straight at the Messiah's body, "Submit to us, or be killed… Just like your sister."

"Us?" Minato raised a small eyebrow, but then turned to see his other enemy standing there with his mechanical parts in place of his damaged body, "Well, check out Jin the freakshow." Minato glared and made a wry face, "I see that grenade didn't do its job properly." Minato looked back at his sister's killer. He then raised his scythe and held it in a familiar fashion. The way Hamuko always held her naginata, a way of showing this was for revenge.

"I'm done talking."

Takaya shook his head and sighed, "So be it." Takaya reached for his pocket and held out a vile filled with black liquid. He turned to Jin and tossed the vile to him, the cyborg grabbing it with his mechanical hand. Jin back up and headed out the window. Out of his back, two projected sprouts of jetfire lifted him up the air, and flew out of the students' sight.

Kid tried to rush and stop him from leaving, but Minato held out his scythe toward him, "Let him go... It doesn't matter where he's going. I'll just kill him like I'll kill this man."

Kid blinked a few times at his teacher, reluctant to let Jin go. But he complied and pointed his guns back at Takaya. But Kid didn't believe Minato was thinking straight. _The Black Blood is making him violent. This isn't good._

The tension was booming. But, Minato didn't wait another second to see Takaya on the ground. He charged with full force, making a loud scream and readying to make a quick swing with his deadly scythe. Takaya stood still, only doing so much as pointing his pistol at the Messiah and pulling the trigger.

Minato's reflexes were still as sharp as ever, ducking down the minute the trigger was pulled. He didn't dodge the bullet, he dodged the gun. But a large sound was heard behind him and he ceased his steps to take a look and see that a portion of the wall the size of the bowling ball taken off, the small cloud of dust wisped in the air.

"Your gun… did that?" Minato never saw Takaya's revolver do something like that before.

"That's the beauty of Black Blood. Channeling this Soul Wavelength of mine and firing at will." Takaya responded, keeping his smug grin.

But his words stopped when a projectile charged its way toward him. He ducked and missed it by the skin of his teeth, and saw a smoking muzzle of Kid's pistols, "You're not the only one that can do that. And trust me, I'll decimate you." Kid threatened

Takaya tried to make another one of his snide comments, but Kid didn't hesitate firing his pistols at rapid speeds. He managed to hit the False Prophet in the leg, and Minato took this time to throw his scythe, the weapon twirling around with the speed of a propeller, _**"Roulette SPIN!" **_

Takaya tried to dodge it, and he got his body out of the way, but he miscalculated and it cut the surface of his right arm, the black blood in his veins made droplets onto the ground, and Takaya was not pleased.

_He should not have been able to cut through my skin so easily like that. _Takaya grimaced in his head.

The twirling weapon came back to the Messiah like a boomerang, and this time, he made sure to catch it, making spins above his head afterwards.

"What's wrong, Takaya?" Minato mocked, tilting his head to the side.

Takaya smirked, "For someone with the title of the Messiah, you're incredibly naïve." He then felt someone make a strong kick in the back, sending him to Minato's other side. He looked to see the assassin twirling one of his chain scythes around, gaining momentum to be ready to throw.

"And for someone about to die, you won't shut up! This is my time, not my teacher's…! I'll kill you and become Minato's top student!" Black*Star threw his chain scythe. Takaya aimed with his revolver and fired. Black*Star dodged the attack, but his weapon contracted back toward him.

"Foolish boy." Takaya aimed at him again, but before he could fire…

"Screech ALPHA!" Chrona yelled, and the wave of energy emerged from the ground to attack Takaya.

Unfortunately, the False Prophet held his hand up to the attack and ceased its movement, the energy scraping against his hand and pushing it to the side, "My blood out lasts yours, child." Takaya would not cease the smug tone in his voice, as if he was certain he would have beaten all of them without an effort.

"Maka!" Minato yelled, and Takaya looked to see the scythe meister and the Messiah both face towards him. Maka nodded to her teacher, and closed her eyes, allowing her soul to expand, and even though Minato's soul has weakened from the black blood draining him, it still was enough to make a soul link. The two souls linked up with each other and raised both their scythes.

"_**Let's go! Soul Resonance!" **_Both meisters and both weapons yelled, and the weapons charged up their power. Both scythes expanded their shape, Soul glowing blue and Thanatos glowing purple. They charged full force to Takaya and readied their weapons. Making one swift sweep, they both yelled.

"_**Dual Witch Hunter!"**_

Takaya grabbed both of the scythes and tried to stand his ground, the energy was pushing his back to the broken stain glass window. Takaya concentrated and gave one final push to Maka's scythe to push her back, knocking her away and losing her grip on soul. She gave a shriek of pain and landed on the floor.

"Maka…!" Minato called out, his attack still charging forth. Minato urged onto take Takaya further to the edge of the window, ready to cast out into the chasm that laid deep below the tower.

"You will pay for what you've done to me… to Hamuko!" Minato yelled, determined to have Takaya punished, to the point of risking his life for it.

"Minato…" Maka whispered, still laying on the ground, but her attention was brought to the stains of black blood that lay behind Minato, the blood from the wound he gave Takaya earlier. But the blood started to act up, and it elevated itself from the ground. Maka gasped in horror, "Bloody Needles! Minato, get out of there!"

"What?" Minato turned back to Maka, but it was too late. He felt his chest get impacted with the sharp, hardened blood that Takaya manipulated. His Witch Hunter attack ceased. He was impaled at least four times, right in his chest area, the spear-like needles showing straight through him. Minato gasped in pain as he felt the needles blocking his ability to breathe properly. Minato's lower lip started to become stained with red, grunting from his pain.

Takaya smugly grinned again, reveling in Minato's sounds of agony. "You almost won, Minato. But, I didn't expect much from an Ex-Messiah."

But Takaya raised an eyebrow as he heard Minato make a small chuckle, the sound muffled by his pain.

"I didn't expect you to laugh in the face of your death, Minato. Maybe you are growing insane." Takaya remarked, but narrowed his eyes when Minato raised his head and gave him one of his own smug grins.

"I'm laughing at yours."

"What?" Takaya asked.

"Thanatos…" Minato called.

"Master?" The Death God responded.

"Take care of everyone for me…" Minato ordered. He then threw the scythe to the side, which Thanatos immediately transformed back into his 'human' form, and Minato raised his arm and charged his hand.

"_**Soul Force!" **_The Persona-user shouted, thrusting the hand right into Takaya's chest, sending him backwards, onto the edge of the window, which he looked down to the chasm below, and then back to Minato, realizing what he was doing.

The Messiah yelled as he pulled himself out of the needles with all the strength he had, and then charged towards Takaya, lowering himself and tackling the False Prophet. This sudden action sent Takaya finally over the edge. But unfortunately, the same was for Minato as he plunged downward along with Takaya.

Maka watched in horror as she could only watch what just happened in a matter of only three seconds. She quickly brought herself up from the ground and sprinted to the window and looked downward, her hand held straight out to the chasm, as if it was some desperate attempt to grab him before he fell.

"_**MINATOOOOO!"**_

Kid's eyes were wide open, his mouth hung out as he lowered his head, "No…"

Black*Star went to look out the window as well, a scowl across his face as he punched the wall as hard as he could, leaving crack in the stone, and blood on his knuckles.

Crona held her arm and lowered her head, not saying a word, while all the weapons transformed back and stood beside their respect able meisters. Except for Thanatos, of course, who clenched his fist and looked down to the chasm below.

Kid looked to see that the golem was gone as well, for some odd reason. He felt like something was off about it, but he couldn't think straight after seeing his teacher and friend sacrifice himself like that.

Kid spoke up and readied his skateboard…

"Let's go home… he have to report."

* * *

><p><em><strong>One Week Later<strong>_

* * *

><p>No one spoke a word of the incident after Kid went to his father and made his report. About how Minato sacrificed himself to save everyone and the one responsible for it all was a man named Takaya Sakaki. Lord Death ordered for Stein to do more research in the matter, and because his accomplice Jin escaped, there was still a threat to be had, so Lord Death decided to bring back 'a few friends'.<p>

Everyone handled the loss differently. Thanatos went to become Lord Death's advisor, now that he no longer had a meister. Black*Star went to continue doing hardcore training, wanting nothing more than to exact revenge for their teacher. Kid made a small shrine in the garden dedicated to their teacher's sacrifice. He didn't just respect him as their teacher, but as the Messiah he was when he was alive. Someone else who had death in his veins besides Kid, and now he was gone.

Maka... Maka took it the hardest. Being as stubborn as she was, she would not budge in her friends' attempts to convince her it wasn't her fault. She felt like there was something… anything that could have been done. Minato had to die because Maka didn't react fast enough. At least that was what she was trying to convince herself.

The night befell upon Death City, and Kid was spending his day off in the house. All he could do was sit and wait as the search for that mysterious black vile that the man named Jin held in his possession. Jin obviously had a task for it, and Kid wanted to know what that task was. He would have given anything to avenge Minato.

Kid heard the ring of his doorbell and strolled downstairs to answer it. Opening it up, she saw a gloomy Maka with a stack of folded papers wrapped in a rubber band in her right hand.

"Maka?" Kid called out, to be responded with a nod.

"Hey Kid… My mail got mixed up with yours… So, here you go." The scythe meister simply informed, handing the Reaper the mail and having him nod.

"Yes, I knew it was odd getting your mail. Let me go get it." Kid calmly said, walking over to his table, being followed by the scythe meister. He picked up Maka's mail and handed it to her in a formal manner. Maka grabbed it and turned her head back to the door.

"Thanks… I'll see you later." Maka strolled back to the door but was stopped by a hand and a voice.

"Maka…" Kid called to her, letting go of her shoulder. Maka lowered her head and didn't speak a word. Kid stepped forward, and the minute he did, he felt her body crashed into his. She grabbed the back of his shirt tightly as she finally broke and began to sob. Kid didn't have to say anything as he knew what she was crying about. He stroked her hair and let her continue to cry, closing his eyes and making soft whispers.

"It wasn't your fault, Maka… there was nothing you could have done." Kid said, giving a small sigh.

"It's…" Maka said in between her cries, "It's all my fault! I could have done something, but I didn't! He wanted his sister to be avenged, but he ended up dying too! How can this not be my fault!? I can't… I…!"

"Maka… shut up."

Maka raised her head and looked at him with her eyes that her tinged with red, and a stream of tears down her face. She was so surprised to hear something like that come from the refined Grim Reaper of all people that she stopped her sobs. She's never heard him take such a tone with anyone before, except the enemy Kishins.

"I don't want to hear you say that it's your fault ever again, you understand me?" Kid said, giving it like it was an order. He looked at her with the most sincere look, and continued to speak, "Minato chose his path because he knew that we could carry on his legacy. He knew that SP will help us find and stop Jin with whatever he's planning. That's why it's not your fault." Kid finished his statement and lead her to the couch and motioned for her to lay down. She looked exhausted, almost like she couldn't sleep a wink because of this incident, "Promise me you won't blame yourself again."

Looking up at the reaper, she saw him look at her with those sincere, kind, mature golden irises of his. She couldn't help but nod, "I promise."

Kid nodded and took a cushion from an armchair and propped her head up, placing it down for support of her head, "Just get some rest." Kid said in a gentle manner.

Maka nodded and slowly closed her eyes, and it didn't take her long for her to truly fall asleep. Kid spent his night in his study, in front of a typewriter. As he was punching the keys away, his personal phone rang, and he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kid?" The voice was Soul, "I can't find Maka. I went for a ride on my bike and she wasn't home."

"Maka's here, Soul." Kid quickly replied.

"What?"

"She came to my house and seemed tired. She's sleeping in the living-room right now." Kid informed.

"So, she went to your house?"

"That's correct." Kid answered honestly.

"Way to go, Casanova." Soul picked, almost sounding like there was some ulterior motive for him speaking that way.

"It's not like that, Soul." Kid addressed, almost in a deadpan manner.

"Well, as long as she's safe, I'm good." Soul honestly replied, "Take care of her, Kid."

"I will…"

"Night, man."

"Goodnight, Soul." Kid replied, hanging up the phone. Making a small sigh, he continued to pound away at the keys of the typewriter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>MEANWHILE: JAPAN<strong>_

* * *

><p>While it may have been the nighttime in Death City, overseas, Japan was in it's late afternoon state. It would have been a normal day in the Shadow Operatives headquarters, if it weren't for a small predicament.<p>

Mitsuru was fooling around with some paperwork business of a recent job. It was nearly a month that Minato has been away on his vacation, and yet she still didn't hear from her husband since that one time she was contacted by him in Nevada. She started to get a little worried. She wanted to think that he was just fine, but her imagination seemed to run wild today. But it seemed unnatural, as if there was a reason for her sudden thoughts.

The more she thought about it, the more it felt necessary for her to be positive about her intuition. She picked up her desk phone and began to press a series of numbers that correspond to her desired call. Waiting as the buzzing rang in her ears for three or four times, but there was no answer. She tried again, but still no answer. She tried again, and again, and again, still ending up with the same result.

"Where are you, Minato?" Mitsuru grew anxious. She didn't want to think it, but she expected Minato might have gotten into some trouble. She thought that maybe she should try some other time, but something was tugging the back of her head. Why did she have this feeling?

She pressed the intercom button to have a public announcement through the speakers sound through.

"Attention: Will operatives No. 3 and No. 4 please report to No. 1's office. Repeat: Operatives 4 and 5, please report to No. 1's office.

She waited for almost five minutes, and then her door opened to have two people come inside. A young blonde girl, and a young man with short silver hair.

"Operative Yu Narukami, reporting for duty, Mitsuru-san."

"Operative Aigis reporting for duty, Mitsuru-san."

"Narukami, Aigis…" Mitsuru addressed, standing up to their level, "I'm not fairly sure, but I suspect Minato might be in trouble."

"What?" Narukami questioned, "What makes you wonder that?"

"I don't know…" Mitsuru admitted, "It's almost as if… I know he's gone missing."

"Mitsuru-san, are you worried about your husband?" Aigis questioned, holding her hands behind her back.

"Yes… yes I am." Mitsuru admitted, nodding to the android.

"What you're saying is you want us to go to America to look for him, aren't you?" Yu asked straight to the point.

Mitsuru nodded, "Yes. You won't be alone. Akihiko's already in a tournament in Miami. I'll have him help you condone the search once he's done with the championship." Mitsuru informed.

"I hope Minato-san is truly alright…" Aigis said, lowering her head somewhat.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Yu responded, "We'll get the search done right away. Aigis will take the east coast, and I'll take the west coast." Yu said, earning another nod from Mitsuru.

"That would be best. We'll have Akihiko take the Midwest. It might take a while, but at least we'll have a better chance. If you have any trouble at all, or find out anything, come straight to me and I'll send for backup."

"Understood, Mitsuru-san." Aigis affirmed, nodding and exiting the office.

Yu gave a small bow and stepped towards the door, but Mitsuru called out to him, and he turned back around.

"Narukami… You understand Minato the most because of your ability to use multiple Personas. I trust in you to find the truth." Mitsuru said, crossing her arms.

Yu looked for a second and nodded, "I won't let you down." The silverette said, and exited the door, ready to condone his search for his missing friend.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Back at the Academy<strong>_

* * *

><p>Kid ended up spending the entire night on the chair of his study, typing away, punching key after key on his typewriter, and he was nearing the conclusion of his diatribe.<p>

The young Reaper spoke the words that he typed on the paper out loud…

_**This was possibly the greatest experience of my life. Meeting the man who changed everything about Death City and the Death Weapon Meister Academy. His untimely passing struck us all… But, I don't think he regrets what he did, and I'm sure he doesn't blame anyone either. I believe that this will only surface a stronger DWMA, united under one banner to stop whoever is threatening us, and honor the memory of a living hero.**_

_**I am Death the Kid, and I have written this story for you, so that you too, may know the Messiah's story. From his childhood, to his duty as a member of an organization called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, to his ultimate deed of saving the world, to his heroic sacrifice. May his legacy never be forgotten.**_

_**The End**_

Kid made a large exhale as he was finally done, and he looked at the large stack of paper he worked the entire night on. And he finally typed the title of the story.

_**Revelations of a Messiah**_

Kid stifled a long yawn and checked his golden pocket watch to see it was six o'clock in the morning. He knew better than to stay up all night, but he couldn't help himself. He raised himself up from his chair and walked through the door of his study. He looked back to see the typewriter, and the stack of paper, knowing what he just did. He closed the door and left the typewriter exactly where it was.

But, two hours later, nobody would have suspected such an action to happen, but the window which just so happen to be the window to the study opened to, and someone crawled inside. Slumping to the floor, he breathed for a second and made sure the bandages in his chest weren't unwrapped. He picked himself up and brushed his blue hair back to the right side of his head where it belonged.

He checked to see a typewriter standing there with a stack of papers sitting near it. A separate sheet of paper was already set into the device, and the blue-haired man could not help himself. He walked over to see the stack of papers that had the title of the story in it, then he looked to see the ending part of the story in the typewriter itself.

He scanned through and couldn't help but smirk at Kid feeling the need to write this. But he couldn't help but feel that something was missing, so he decided to make some constructive criticism.

He simply added one small edit to this story…

_**The End?**_


End file.
